


Love in the State of Confusion

by Evie_Page



Category: Original Work
Genre: Canon Bisexual Character, F/F, F/M, Food, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Minor Violence, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23925829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_Page/pseuds/Evie_Page
Summary: My first foray into the romance genre! Definitely a work in progress.Multiple relationships, including polyamory (eventually).
Relationships: Cassandra/Bethany, Tim/Jerri-Lynn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since I'm super new to AO3 and am not sure of the tag system yet, please help me learn! If there are any tags you think would apply, please let me know what they are and why they belong, and I'll do my best to keep up with them. Thanks!

“I hate weddings.” 

“I know.” A baby faced blonde woman poked her head through the swinging door to the kitchen. “But they pay the bills. Besides, it’s not really the weddings you don’t like. It’s the people.”

“The drama.”

“The fighting between the parents and the people actually in--” She disappeared back through the door as a phone started ringing.

The dark-haired woman snorted softly to herself. “Well, at least she’s right,” she muttered. She snagged a bag full of white icing from the crowded counter top and fixed a star-shaped tip on the end. Her head cocked slightly to one side as she eyed the layer of cake on the stand in front of her. 

“Yes, she’s right here, too,” piped the blonde’s voice from the other side of the door. “Hold on just a moment. I’m going to put you on speaker phone so we can both hear you at the same time, Mrs. Stevens.” 

The dark haired woman’s shoulders sagged as the blonde came through the door. With the push of a button, a drawling voice came began to echo through the previously quiet space. “Cassandra? Bethany? Can you both hear me clearly?”  
Beth tucked a stray strand of blonde behind her ear. “We’re both here, Mrs. Stevens. We can both hear you clearly.”

“Are you sure? I do so dislike speaker phones.” They heard a haughty sniff. “I will never understand why on earth you cannot simply purchase Bluetooth sets like the rest of the world.”

“Mrs. Stevens, I’m afraid that we cannot justify taking the risk of accidentally dropping an earpiece or something similar into the baking. Our cakes would not be up to standards if they tasted of ear wax and plastic parts.” 

“Well I never!” 

Cassie winked as Beth smothered a giggle behind her hand. She set the decorating stand to a slow spin before speaking again. “How can we help you?”   
Both women mouthed the words as they came through the phone. “I would like to speak to you about my wedding cake.” 

“Mrs. Stevens, this is your daughter’s cake. Your wedding cake was decorated 34 years ago, if I recall correctly,” Beth stated.

There was a sudden tart tone to the voice on the phone. “I hardly need you to remind me of such things, young lady. It was an absolute disaster. As you well know, this is the only chance for redeeming what should have been the best day of my life. And I will. Have. It. My. Way.”

Cassie drew a long breath and held it for a few seconds. Her practiced movements set a neat row of shells along the upper edge of the cake layer as she spoke. “I am afraid that you will not have it your way, Mrs. Stevens.”

“How dare you --”

She stood upright to raise her own voice. “Mrs. Stevens! We have discussed this at length. You have tried to get your husband involved. You have tried to get your lawyers involved. You have tried to storm the building yourself, to absolutely no end. You know that you have no leg to stand on. That is an absolute and unequivocal truth.” 

“She’s right, you know,” Beth chimed in. “The binding legal contract outlining all services to be rendered for your daughter’s wedding has been drawn up between one Mr. Timothy Wright, one Miss Jerri-Lynn Stevens, and representatives of Sweet Cheeks Bakery. It has been signed by all four of us. You were not involved in the proceedings at all.” 

Cassie jumped back in. “If you would like to take this up with Jerri-Lynn, please feel free to do so. However, I hope you take a moment to consider something very carefully first.”

There was a full three seconds silence before the older woman’s icy voice responded. “What, exactly, would you suggest I consider?” The last word came out in a low hiss.

“Only that this is exactly the type of behavior your own mother exhibited on the day of your wedding.” Cassie nodded at Beth, who touched the screen of the phone directly in the center of the red ‘hang up’ icon.

Beth leaned across the counter top and made a speculative humming noise in her throat. “What do you think? One minute? Two?”

“Less.” Cassie lifted the bag tip and used it to point toward a bowl of purple star-shaped flowers. “Would you, please? Central arrangement with cascades down the sides.”

“Just remember, I have to be able to answer when Jerri-Lynn calls.”

“Then don’t stick your fingers in the...” she paused as the phone rang, waited for Beth to put it on speaker, then continued with, “frosting. Hey girls!”

A cacophony of giggles erupted from the phone. “Oh. My. God. I am so, SO sorry she called again!”

“That’s OK. Beth just hung up on her,” Cassie laughed.

“Hey! I only did that AFTER you told her to stop acting like her mom!”

A loud gasping sound along with shrieks of delight emanated from the phone. There were also several voices - “You did not!”   
“Oh my god, I can’t believe you did that!”   
“Oh man! That’s great! That’s like the best thing to ever happen and I’m never going to forget this.”   
“Ooo… Call the police! Get some personal protection! You got your body armor?”

Eventually Jerri-Lynn’s soft drawl came through over the rest of the women in the background. “Look, darlings, I love you for that. I really do. But I’m glad I got a hold of Jackson. Listen, he owes me a favor. So I called him up and asked him to go on over there to escort y’all to the site here.”

Beth froze in the middle of sticking a flower in the side of the cake. “What? Why?”

“Mama’s not going to give up, honey.”

“Nope. Not today, not tomorrow, not next year,” a voice in the background agreed.

Cassie nodded. “You know that she doesn’t like Tim, Beth. She’s been dead set against the two of them being together since they first met… What was it, six years ago?”

An entire chorus of voices came through in stereo: “Five years, three hundred forty seven days, ten hours, and...” They scattered into various numbers from that point, then dissolved into laughter again.

“Right. Six years,” Cassie reiterated. “For some reason, she doesn’t like him. Never has. Not good enough for her baby girl and all that.” An irritated snort came from the phone. “You’ve fielded enough calls from her to know that she’s not going to stop just because it’s the wedding day. For pity’s sake, this last one was the fourth one this morning.”

“What was this one about?” Jerri-Lynn asked.

“The same as the last one. The first two were about the flavors of the layers, which are definitely not to her tastes. The last two were complaining about how terrible and unsanitary and just plain awful it is to use actual fresh flowers as decoration. Even though they’re perfectly safe and actually kind of delicious.” Beth sniffed loudly and put another in place.

“Yes, well,” Jerri-Lynn sighed, “You know mama thinks she just runs the world. And I think it’s a good idea for Jackson to be there. Just for a little extra insurance.” There was a brief pause, the sound of a door shutting, and her voice suddenly came through louder and less echo-y. “There. I took you off speaker now. Look, girls, I really am a little worried here. Ain’t nobody else going to tell you since they don’t want to bring bad news.”

Cassie and Beth looked into each others’ stony faces. Beth shook her head the slightest bit. “What aren’t they going to tell us?”

They could hear a slow intake of breath on the other end of the line. “Well… It seems that some of the wedding party saw some cars lined up on the way in. There’s people with signs out there already.” She puffed out a jet of air. “Seems some people have decided they don’t want to allow a bakery run by lesbians to be able to succeed around here. Not at all.”

Cassie snorted a short sound of frustrated amusement. “I suppose it won’t help to tell them that we’re not exactly lesbians, will it?”

Jerri-Lynn made a dismissive sputtering sound.

“Of course not,” Beth added. “You know good and well that nobody’s going to care whether or not either one of us is attracted to men, too. Not as long as we’re living in this terrible, horrible, awful, no good state of sin and terrifying all the good little innocent children.” She heaved a soft sigh. “Is Jackson the only officer available? Or is he the only one willing to provide protection for the town’s unmentionable citizens.”

“A little bit of both, I think,” Jerri-Lynn admitted.

Cassie stood erect once more, gently setting the icing bag to the side. “Well. That just means one thing.”

“What’s that, honey?”

“We may be a few minutes later than originally planned. We have to dress appropriately. And Beth needs to wash the streak of food coloring off of her nose.”

Beth squeaked and clamped her hands over her face while Jerri-Lynn burst into laughter again.

+++++

A couple of hours later, Beth and Cassie found themselves in a caravan of vehicles headed toward the golf course. Beth kept the bumper of their company SUV a careful three feet away from the slow moving rear of Jackson’s patrol car. Cassie’s eyes kept flicking back and forth – from the growing number of people on foot to the cloudless sky and back again. Her hands clenched tightly on her lap as they drew closer to where the service entrance broke away from the main gate.

“Well, they certainly have it set up well,” Beth remarked as they passed under a large oak and the clubhouse came into view.

The lawn had been transformed from a wide green expanse to an almost childish wonderland of fantastical peaked tents, hanging paper lanterns, sculptures fashioned out of balloons, and containers overflowing with purple and white flowers. Areas were marked off by buntings, each with a large flag proudly declaring what each was for. Off to one side was a short walkway with a cluster of tents artfully arranged at the end. One tent was marked as “groomsmen”, a larger one as “bridal party”, and a third as “refreshments”. The last, and largest, did not require a label. The hardwood platform that had been laid out and the short stage at one end made it quite clear that it would be in use as the dance floor later.

Jackson flashed his brakes briefly before veering off down the side road to the left. Beth tapped her brakes as well, then followed, speaking quietly as she did. “We can do this. We’re ready for this. But we have to let things happen.” She pointed forward with her chin. “He’s there both as protection and as a witness, just in case things go bad.” 

Cassie did not reply. Her attention was fully devoted to an older man propping up a sandwich board style sign. She watched him carefully turn it so the flowery “congratulations” could be seen by the main body of the celebration, but the opposite side would be facing directly toward the service tents. The man straightened and tugged at his expensive suit jacket to pull it back into place. He made direct eye contact with Cassie for a moment before lifting his chin slightly and turning to walk briskly toward the main tents. Cassie’s body twisted in the seat as she looked back to read the other side of the sandwich board. “God hates fags.”

“We just have to stay calm, you know? We can’t get combative at all.”

Cassie turned back to forward, making a dissatisfied whining sound deep in her throat.

“I know,” Beth sighed. “But if we want to get the better of these people, we have to act better than they do. Especially on an important day like this.” She flicked a glance in the rear view mirror to ensure the boxes carefully stacked in the back were still in place. “You know we can’t mess this up and still hope to be open by this time next year.”

Cassie pursed her lips and brought one shoulder up toward her ear.

Beth brought the SUV to a stop for a moment as Jackson pulled into a row of cars parked neatly across an area of browned grass. He stepped out of the vehicle and started toward them. Beth rolled the window down and Cassie leaned forward to look around her.

Jackson’s uneven teeth flashed white against his dark skin as he bent forward slightly to lean against the top of the door. “You ladies ready for this? I believe everything is in place. All you need to do is go start unloading those boxes into the refreshment tent.”  
Cassie slowly shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready,” she said in a loud whisper.

Beth reached over blindly to wrap one hand around Cassie’s clenched fists. “You’re sure that one of their rumored representatives is there waiting?”

“Yes. You saw Dr. Poloma setting up his contribution, there. His wife volunteered to help with the drinks for the crew until about an hour before the ceremony is scheduled. She needs time to freshen up. And you know she’s a part of Karen’s tight circle.”  
Cassie snorted a laugh. “So easy to forgive their own sins.”

“Or at least have enough dirt on each other to keep their respective mouths shut,” added Beth.

“I suppose it’s a measure of providence and good fortune that you need to speak with Linda about the Baptist Ladies’ Tea anyway, isn’t it? My wife was telling me that it’s supposed to be tomorrow. She also said something about plans to re-box the cookies and somebody trying to pass them off as their own. Such a shame not a one of them has ever been able to lift a spatula for themselves since they were in high school.” 

Beth glanced into the rear view once more. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Jackson. Neither one of us has heard anything about a tea, plans for tomorrow, or anything of that nature. Not one bit.” She gave him a dazzling smile, the dimple in her cheek winking into existence for a moment. “Everybody else is already here?”

He nodded and straightened. “They’re all set. You ladies just go on up there, and I’ll be along in a minute.”

Beth set her shoulders and moved forward once more. Her pale cheeks started to get a pink hue as they came closer to the tents. “They’re watching, aren’t they?”

It took a moment for Cassie to respond. “Yeah.” It was little more than a rough whisper.

“Well, I don’t know why. It’s not like there’s another bakery in the next twenty miles.” She sniffed. “Besides, it wasn’t an issue at all until last month.”

Cassie tore her eyes from the small groups of people milling around to stare at Beth. “It was the news. The big groups his the national news, then it all hit the internet and went viral. If they hadn’t recognized my mom it never would have been a problem.” She twisted her hands together roughly. “I still don’t know why she insists on marching in Washington so much.”

“We can’t help that. But we’re not responsible. Not for your mom marching. We’re not responsible for the attacks on the protesters. We’re not responsible for the government wanting to deny us basic rights. We’re not responsible for hospitals refusing to treat us, or for the fact that your mom wants us – and other people like us – to be able to live well. And be happy.” She stopped at the end of a line of cars parked behind the tents and cut the engine. “What we are responsible for is getting this stuff delivered. I can’t do it without your help.”

Cassie made the low whining noise in the back of her throat before getting out of the car. As she reached the back of the SUV to open the hatch, a painfully thin young woman came bustling up.

“Thank goodness you’re here! Miss Karen has been on the warpath for the last two hours. Nobody can get her out of the way long enough to get anything done and the setup is so far behind I’m afraid we won’t be ready in time.”

“Hey Jasmine,” Beth said as she appeared around the other side. “Don’t you worry, now. Once we get her out of the way, we’ll do what we can to help your setup. If everybody is willing to accept our help.”

Jasmine flashed a cheeky grin and flapped a hand in a dismissive gesture. “You don’t have to worry about that. Not one little bit. All of us know what it’s like to be on the receiving end. We got your back.”

Cassie watched as she hurried back toward the kitchen tent. “You know… I think that actually helped.”

“Of course it did.” Beth gently pushed a box into the shorter woman’s hands. “But we already knew that if Jackson had something up his sleeve, his daughter was bound to be in the thick of it.”

“All the cousins, too.”

“It’s been that way since they could all walk. Which means we’re covered. Now shoo.” Beth’s dimple flashed to indicate the harsh tone was meant as a joke. She gave Cassie and gentle encouraging shove. “I’m about three seconds behind you.”

The grass between the line of cars and the rear entrance to the tents had been trampled flat. Off to the left there were two large smokers set up, each worked by an elderly man. One pulled the cap off his wiry white hair to swipe at his forehead. The other held up his tongs and clicked them a few times, as if to make sure they still worked. Cassie felt her tense shoulders ease and drop. She nodded in their general direction without being too specific about the intent. The first man put his cap back on. They had seen. They were watching.

“Coming in,” she said loudly. A quick count of three to make sure people had time to move, and she rounded the canvas corner to duck inside. “Oh my,” she whispered to herself.

Instead of the smoothly operating ‘camp kitchen’ she expected to see from a group that had been catering for decades, there was an air of chaos trying to break free. The members of the King family that were free to move around the periphery seemed to be able to focus on their work, but somewhere in the center of it all was a soft voice making suggestions for improvement, accompanied by a heavy-set woman in a navy blue dress. Their eyes made brief contact. The soft voice paused a moment before the woman turned deliberately away so she could address Jasmine.

“Time to earn our keep,” Cassie muttered. She squared her shoulders, shifted the grip on her box so it was balanced atop her palms, and marched straight toward the woman.

“… not supposed to melt the sugar first, honey. It always mixes in just fine at home and every one of the guests here just loves it that way.”

“Miss Karen! There you are!” Cassie fixed a sugary smile on her face. “I thought for sure we had missed you.”

The older woman gave an exaggerated jump, one arm flying wide as she whipped around. Her hand connected squarely with the box on Cassie’s hands, lifting it and smashing it directly into her chest.

“Oh! Oh no! Well dearie me.” Karen rocked backward dramatically, another apparently exaggerated movement. “I am so sorry, Cassandra. I had no idea you were there. None at all!”

Cassie looked down at the smears of frosting oozing out from the cover of the box onto what had been a crisp white uniform top a moment before. She plastered the smile on her lips once more and lifted her eyes. A flicker of movement to one side – Beth waving from the opposite side of the tent – made the expression soften into something a little more genuine. “That’s quite all right, Miss Karen. Our contract for this order was fulfilled. What can we do?” she asked in a helpless voice.

Karen touched her fingers to the perfectly styled ‘may I speak to the manager’ cut before responding. “Well.” Her hand moved to the string of pearls settled under her second chin. “Well.”

Cassie waited patiently. She was aware the small crowd of caterers that had been surrounding the two of them had shrunk down to just two other people. The rest of them had escaped to their various positions, where they were working frantically to get back on schedule. The awkward moment stretched just long enough for a chunk of frosting to love its battle with gravity and fall to the ground.

“Well,” Karen sighed.

The sound of somebody clearing their throat behind her caused Cassie to step to and one side and turn slightly. Jackson stepped forward around her and took a long look at the mess. “Is everything all right here?”

“Oh, officer King, it’s terrible!” Karen burst out. “Little Cassandra here came up behind me and surprised me. I swear I had no idea at all she was there! She’s so quiet, you know. Of course I couldn’t help but jump when she said something...”

“Of course,” he agreed. 

“When I jumped, well...” She flattened a palm on her bosom and heaved a sigh. “I’m afraid my hand must have brushed against the cake box. Now, bless her dear little heart, Cassandra simply can not serve what was in it.”

Jackson looked Cassie over once more, then gave his head a mournful shake. “No, of course not, ma’am. That would be terrible.”

“I am so very sorry. We’re just going to have to get another cake. I’ll just get right on the phone and see if one of the bakeries in one of the grocery stores happens to have something they can fix up real quick.”

Cassie’s smile broadened. “Oh, that won’t be necessary at all, Miss Karen.” 

The older woman jerked back. “It won’t?”

“No, of course not. You see, just before we loaded up to come, I got a call from Miss Judy. She didn’t want anybody to see us pull up to her house. Afraid of what the neighbors would say, you know. She has a reputation to keep.”

Karen touched her hair again. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, sugar.”

“Well, Miss Judy said that if we e-mailed her photos of the sweets for tomorrow’s church function after they had been loaded in the truck, she would consider that to be proof of delivery. The end of the contract. After which, she paid in full via PayPal.” She nodded toward the smears on her shirt. “This was supposed to be handed to you for you ladies to use tomorrow. The cake is behind you.”

Karen’s body stiffened. Her face paled beneath her makeup as she turned. Beth finished carefully setting the dove shaped picks into place on the smallest tier before waving. Without another word Karen walked quickly toward the exit.

“That went better than expected,” Cassie sighed.

“It did. It really did.” Jackson leaned closer to Cassie and said in an exaggerated whisper, “You might want to change soon. You’re melting.”


	2. Chapter 2

Eighteen days later Beth got a text from Jerri-Lynn. “Mama not happy”

The next morning Cassie logged onto the Sweet Cheeks Facebook page to update the daily specials. It had been flooded with bad reviews. Many of them were by people halfway across the country. A few were by people overseas. Each one had a thread of comments attached. The vast majority were by people that neither one of the women had ever heard of before, never mind whether or not the had patronized the shop. Cassie made the necessary updates – specials on cinnamon rolls and pre-sliced multigrain bread – she started to read some of the comments. They ranged from ‘there was a bug baked into my muffin and roaches on the walls’ to making fun of the company logo (we don’t want to see a fat kid with frosting all over them) to death threats. After the first few hundred, she simply closed the laptop. She contacted the police, who said there was nothing they could do.

Six days after that the bakery didn’t open. When Beth and Cassie drove by to get to the back parking lot they didn’t even bother to stop. They slowed down and stared, but they never stopped. The sight of the spray paint and broken glass was enough. Neither one of them wanted details until after the authorities had been through. They parked in the lot of the Winn-Dixie a few blocks away. Cassie rocked back and forth in the passenger seat, forcing herself to take deep breaths, while Beth called the police.  
Where the police go, the press follows. Especially if the local neighborhood reporter wants to move on to bigger and better things. Less than ten minutes after Jackson and his cohorts had the scene cordoned off, Bradley Carson of the Alabaster Tribune was pressing his ample belly against the yellow tape. His thumbs flew across the touch screen of his phone as he typed copy on the spot. Occasionally he would lean over a bit further to snap a picture and mumble something about the Associated Press. The officers tolerated his behavior for nearly an hour before they shooed him away, ignoring his protests about suppressing the free press and his duty to report items of interest.

Beth and Cassie sat through all of it, watching as if from a distance. They answered the questions the officers asked, first individually, then together.  
“When did this happen?”  
“Did you call us right away?”  
“Did you get a call form the alarm company?”  
“What time did you leave last night?”  
“Are you sure you set the alarm?”

They sat hand in hand on the curb as other officers took pictures. The front of the building, where all the glass had been broken out of the windows and doors. Then around to the sides and back, where the equipment had been thrown into the alley. Photos of the slurs spray painted inside and out. Photos of the bright red “DIE FAGS DIE” and the slash of red paint under the image of the crumb covered child on the wrap of the company SUV. One of the officers specifically brought those photos to their attention by bringing them the digital camera to ask his questions. Yes, it was their SUV, owned under the company name. No, it was not supposed to look as if the child in the logo had their throat cut. Yes, they were aware that Beth’s cousin would not be happy to know the picture of their son had been vandalized in that way. No, they did not know if any of the other family members would come under attack because of their ‘lifestyle choices’. Yes, they were worried. No, they had not contacted anybody. Yes, people had tried to contact them, but they were more concerned about the ongoing investigation and would call people later. Yes, they were sure about the SUV. No, they did not need to ‘take another look’ to be sure.

Beth’s voice was quavering when she finally confronted the officers standing in front of them. “Gary, you know that’s not supposed to be there. It wasn’t there when we delivered the cake pops for the gender reveal parties for both of your kids. It wasn’t there when we did the big cake for your Nana’s 100th birthday. It wasn’t there when I passed by your patrol car yesterday afternoon and we waved at each other. It has not been there in the damned near a decade that image has been our logo. And the only reason I can think of for you to ask is so you can feel big and powerful by kicking us when we’re down. Unless this is some sort of twisted revenge for when I dumped you fifteen years ago. Either way, it’s not right.”

Cassie reached up and grabbed the back of Beth’s head, gently twisting the other woman around to hide her face against her collarbone. Cassie shielded her in a protective hug, glaring at the officers over the top of Beth’s head. “I believe we are finished with you.”

They stared each other down for a few seconds before the other officer bumped Gary’s shoulder with his own and led him away.

“Prick,” Cassie muttered. “Easy to remember why we gave up dating the guys in this place.” She placed a gentle kiss on Beth’s head, just over where her bun sat. They sat that way, rocking each other gently for a few seconds. Cassie drew a deep breath before she let go of Beth. “Come on. We’re okay. We’re not done yet. It’s time to make a few calls.”

Beth sat up so Cassie could dig the phone out of her pocket. She swiped hastily at her eyes. “I changed the voicemail messages while you were being questioned. They say the bakery was vandalized and has been temporarily closed, but that we’re not hurt.”

“You don’t think people will panic when they hear that?”

“Not the way this town talks.” Beth sniffed. “Everybody out of town heard all the true stuff and five times that in rumors and lies within an hour of it being reported. Besides, I can guaran-damned-tee that it’s been all over the internet since even before then. I would almost bet that people had pictures ready to put up even before we called the police.”

Cassie stared at the screen of her phone. Notifications for social media, email, voice messages, and missed calls had exceeded the maximum number the phone could track. She shook her head numbly. “I think you’re right.”

“Don’t open any of them until we have witnesses. No email, no voicemail, don’t check missed calls, nothing. Not until one or more of the officers is willing to sit there and go through them all with us.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Careful, now. It’s my job to be the paranoid one, remember? You’re supposed to be the sensible one that takes care of all the business.”

Beth sniffled and put her head back on Cassie’s shoulder. “About time you started helping.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “I just can’t right now.”

“That’s okay, honey. This is the first time you’ve dealt with something like this. Not me. Besides, the insurance people are used to me anyway.”

A few phone calls and several hours later most of the crowd had cleared away. The insurance adjusters had come and gone. They took statements from Cassie and Beth. They took their own series of pictures. They took the word of the police at face value when thy were told they would receive a copy of the police report.

The officers themselves had left fairly early in the day. There were a couple that had stayed to finish taking crime scene photos. There were a few that were there to investigate by poking around the site looking for something helpful. There were one or two that were ostensibly there to ensure people didn’t stand staring for too long. The last group was largely ineffectual.

The onlookers came and went, both in groups and individually. Most of them took pictures. Beth and Cassie felt it was safe to assume they were going on the internet and being sent out via text message to people they probably didn’t know. Various political groups or religious groups, maybe. A few asked them questions directly. Most of them asked each other questions instead, fueling the fires of gossip and speculation. Every once in a while somebody would yell and insult or a slur. The officers would tell everybody to move along if the same person yelled something more than once. By the time the sun started getting low all but one or two of them had gone. 

“Are you ready to go home?” Beth asked hopefully when the last officer left.

Cassie groaned in the back of her throat but said nothing. Instead she stood and brushed the seat of her jeans off. 

“Cass?” Beth’s voice was wary. “What’s wrong?”

Cassie looked around one more time to ensure nobody was within listening distance. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea just yet,” she admitted. “The last time something like this happened, when I was driven back here, the business was only the start of it. The people who did it found my storage unit, too. And my house. When I was in it.” She scuffed a shoe against some gravel on the road. “I’m not ready to see if that happens here, too.”

“Oh! Oh.” Beth was silent for a long moment before she stood, too. “You want me to call Jackson and see if he’ll swing by to check on things?”

Cassie swayed back and forth on her feet a moment. “Yeah, I guess so. If he’s still on duty. I think his shift ended, though?” 

Beth nodded. “I’ll call him anyway. So he can contact the department and have somebody officially go by. That way it will be on record, there will be the official transcripts of the radio stuff if they find anything. Or if they don’t.”

“Yeah. Okay, that sounds good. Then can we go eat or something? I don’t feel hungry at all, but we need to fuel ourselves. This is going to be a long haul.”

“Only if you drive,” Beth responded. “Like you keep saying, you’ve been through this. I’m too shaken up to be able to concentrate on what’s going on. It wouldn’t be safe.”

“Yeah, I’ll drive. No problem.” Cassie waited for Beth to dial and look up before moving toward her scion.

Within a matter of a few minutes they had moved away from the scene. They could no longer see the destruction, the phone call to Jackson had been placed, they had been assured that an officer would go by off and on throughout the night, and that somebody would be available the next day to go through all of the social media and phone calls with them if they were ready to face that. They drove in silence until they reached the next town, where one of their favorite restaurants was located. Even there they got looks of both pity and disgust as they were seated. 

Cassie waited until their drinks had been served before she started talking. “I don’t know, Beth. I’m not sure we should sleep at home tonight.”

Beth carefully poured milk into her coffee. “No… I’m not sure of that, either.”

“There’s that little B&B that Jerri-Lynn and Tim have. It’s not too far from here.”

Beth didn’t say anything. Instead, she dumped a sweetener packet into the cup and stirred, watching the liquid swirl together.

Cassie reached out and set her fingertips on the wrist of the hand holding Beth’s cup in place. “I know,” she said quietly, “I don’t want to involve them any more, either. But we know they’re at least sympathetic. And we know that they tried to warn us.”

“It didn’t do any good,” Beth croaked.

Cassie reached out with her other hand and cupped Beth’s cheek. “No. But at least we have that text as part of a legal record. And we have it before any of the bad stuff started happening, which could be useful. If Jerri-Lynn knew that her mom was capable of doing this stuff and tried to let us know, that may help us in the end. With things like the insurance, and starting over, and maybe even some sort of protection if we need it.”

“Okay.” Beth turned her head to place a kiss on Cassie’s palm. “Okay, yeah, I can see that. You want to make that call, or should I?”

“I can do it. You okay to sit here for a few minutes? I want to make this call outside if I can.”

Beth nodded and turned her attention back to her coffee. Cassie slid from the booth and wended her way to the front door. She gave the hostess a tired smile. “Need to make a phone call. I’ll be right back.”

The hostess smiled back brightly. “Of course!” She waited until Cassie passed close by and said in a loud whisper, “Make it quick. The owner doesn’t want me to let you back in if you leave.”

Cassie’s step stuttered, but she recovered quickly. A single nod, and she was out the door, phone already in hand.

Three rings and Tim’s voice came on the line. “Alabaster Bed and Breakfast. Not your average ivory tower. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Tim. It’s Cassie, from Sweet Cheeks?”

“Oh. Hey. Yeah, hi! I heard what happened. How can we help?”

“Yeah. It’s not good. Listen, we don’t want to sleep at home tonight. But we don’t want to drag you guys in any deeper than you already are. You have a room available for a couple of anonymous guests? Preferably one hiding in the back or something?”

“Uuuuhhh...” The sound of clicking came through the phone. “No, but by luck we happen to have an employee cabin available. End of the season and some of the seasonal people went to Mexico for six months.”

Cassie sighed. “That will work. We’ll have to owe you. We don’t have an income and the insurance will take months. If not longer.”

“No you won’t. We have a kitchen and we like to eat. Besides, it’s pretty obvious how this all got started. I’ll talk to Jerri-Lynn about it, but if you want, I’m about 90 percent sure you can just take over the baker’s duties here immediately.”

“That’s great.” Cassie glanced into the restaurant to see the hostess trying to flag her down in an inconspicuous manner. “Look, I’ve got to go. You going to be up for a while? We’re not answering phones right now.”

“Sure. Just give us a call when you’re about 5 minutes out.”

“Thanks, Tim. We will.” She tapped the screen and slipped the phone in her pocket as she darted back inside.

“You just came from the bathroom,” the hostess whispered loudly.

Cassie nodded sharply. She ignored the looks as she wandered back to the booth where Beth waited. “I’m so glad the rest rooms are just at the front,” she sighed as she slid into her seat. “I was able to glance out the door and make sure our car is okay. Looks like I did remember to lock the doors. Everything’s all set.”

Beth raised her brows in question. Cassie gave her head the tiniest shake in reply.

“I’m glad. Do you feel better?” Beth asked.

“I think I do,” Cassie replied. “At least we won’t have to worry about that tonight. Everything’s taken care of.”

Beth raised her coffee to her lips and sipped as the waitress came forward to set their salads down. Once the necessities had been taken care of, she leaned forward over her plate, her eyes down as if she were concentrating on stabbing a cherry tomato. “We’ll be staying there?”

Cassie hummed in agreement. “I’ll tell you about it when we get back to the car. But it’s all taken care of.”

\---

It was well after midnight when their headlights swept across the front porch of the old house. A tall, thin man standing near the stairs squinted against the bright light. “There he is,” Beth said, obvious relief in her voice. 

Cassie held the brakes as he came down the stairs and crossed to the car. “Hi, guys,” he yawned as he folded himself into the back seat. “Oh. Sorry. My day hasn’t been as long as yours, but it started early.”

“That’s okay. Not many people have days like ours,” Beth said.

Cassie glanced in the rear view mirror at the darkness that held Tim. “Which way are we going?”

He gestured toward the right before realizing it did no good. “Round the back toward the right. There was a request for private and discreet, so we got one of the furthest cabins read. Hope you won’t mind a hike in the mornings.”

“We just appreciate the fact that you’re putting us up at all,” Cassie said. “Not many around here would take the risk.”

“No problem. Actually, if we can convince you to use our kitchen, we may have gotten the better end of the deal out of this. Left here.”

Cassie veered toward what looked almost like a hiking trail cutting through a stand of trees. “You sure this little car can get down this?”

“Yep.” He laughed softly. “My little Honda did for years, until Jerri-Lynn’s dad told me that it wasn’t really sneaky. At all.”

“He’s good people,” Beth said. “I wonder how the two of them ended up together?”

“Jerri-Lynn never told you?” Cassie asked.

“Huh uh. We weren’t close at all until after you and I got together.”

Tim snickered. “You’ll love this, then. Bill and Marylou had only been together for a couple of weeks when – turn right here – when they announced their engagement. But if you look at the dates on the marriage certificate and Jerri-Lynn’s birth certificate, there’s a certain… discrepancy.”

Beth was silent for a few seconds. “What do you… I must be brain fried. I don’t get it.”

Cassie barked a short laugh. “Marylou is one of the biggest hypocrites in the county. She was the town slut before she got married and became all prim and proper. There’s been questions about whether or not Bill is even responsible for Jerri-Lynn floating around for years.”

“Well now. Ain’t that something,” Beth whispered as they pulled up to a small cabin.

Tim waited for Cassie to cut the engine before crawling out of the cramped back seat. He produced a pair of keys from his pocket and leaned down to pass them through the window. “We call this the ‘worst-kept secret suite’ around the house. Nobody’s rented it in over a year. They say it’s too far out from the main house. We had been playing with the idea of selling it, but just couldn’t do it. Too many memories.” He grinned at them. “These are for the front door. There’s an exit through the cellar, too, but that latches from the inside. Completely secure from the outside. Breakfast in normally served at 8 but we don’t expect to see you there unless you just don’t sleep at all tonight. I’ll call Jackson and let him know you’re safe. The rest of it we can talk about tomorrow.” He pulled a flashlight from his back pocket, game them a jaunty salute, and wandered back down the path.

Cassie stared at the key in her hand. “Well then. I guess that’s decided. Our room awaits. Shall we?”

\---

They made it to breakfast almost on time the next morning. The bacon was gone, but there was still plenty of hot coffee, pancakes, and scrambled eggs to go around. The pair served themselves and settled at the far end of the single long table, away from the black-haired man absorbed in the local newspaper.

They made short work of their plates. Cassie stabbed at the last bite of rubbery eggs. “Jerri-Lynn’s in the kitchen. They must need our help more than I realized.”

Beth smothered a giggle, her eyes flicking to the stranger. “Think it will be enough to run him off?”

“I don’t think so.” Cassie slurped at her coffee, ostensibly looking around the room as she did, though her eyes rested on the man for a long second. “I’m pretty sure he was at the wedding. Long term guest, maybe.”

“Poor soul.” Beth pulled a hair tie from her wrist. “When you’re done would you mind? I can’t comb through it well enough with my fingers when I’m doing it blind.”

Cassie shoved the last of her pancakes into her mouth and refilled her cup before moving around to stand behind Beth. She placed a palm on either side of the blonde’s head and tilted it back slightly. She used her fingers to gently comb the hair back from Beth’s face, then separate off a section, deftly starting a french braid.

“This is probably the only thing I really actually miss about having long hair,” Cassie commented as she worked. “But the bed head is easier to deal with like this.”

Beth laughed quietly. “I don’t know. Have you ever listened to yourself complain when that undercut starts getting long?”

Cassie made a dismissive sputtering sound. “Of course not. That’s your job. Why would I want to listen to myself complain?”

Beth hummed noncommittally. She lowered her head slightly to allow Cassie better access to the back of her scalp. Her eyes met those of the man at the far end of the table, who was watching them over the top of the newspaper. Her voice was coldly formal when she spoke. “Can I help you?”

He lowered the paper, deliberately folding it as he set it aside. His startling blue eyes went form Beth to Cassie and back again. “Maybe,” he slowly admitted, “But I’m not sure how to approach the subject.”

“Direct questions and plain English,” Cassie snapped without looking up.

“All right. Are you two the cause of last night’s uproar?”

Beth lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know. We didn’t get here until this morning.”

He nodded. “That’s fair enough. And would technically be correct if you were the cause just as much as if you were not. Better question. Are you the ones who are supposed to be staying in the secret cabin?” He made air quotes with his fingers around the last two words.

Cassie’s hands stilled. “Yes. It may have been for just last night. I t may be for the next week. It may be permanent. It may be that we just disappear from there next week.” She gave him a hard look. “And since it seems you’re the only person who knows about it aside from Jerri-Lynn and Tim, the police will know where to start looking.”

The man raised his hands in mock surrender. “Not me! I just happened to be talking to Tim when you called last night.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes and made a low noise in her throat. 

“It’s okay,” Beth whispered to her.

The stranger leaned forward again, gesturing toward the paper. “That’s what I’m interested in. I understand that this is a small town and not much happens here, but whoever decided to hire the guy writing these articles really needs to put in at some of the checkout stand rags. There’s no substance. Just rumor. It would be great click bait if it was published online.”

“That doesn’t explain your interest.” Cassie affixed the hair band at the end of the braid and let it drop between Beth’s shoulder blades.

Beth immediately reached back to draw her hair over her shoulder. She gave it a nervous little tug. “Not at all. It doesn’t explain anything. Not your interest, or who you are, or what you know, or why you’re even talking to us.”

Cassie snagged her cup of coffee off the table. “I’m going to go find Jerri-Lynn. She and I need to have a talk.”

Just then the swinging door to the kitchen burst open and a petite redhead bustled into the room. “Hey, girls! Glad y’all made it all right. What do we need to talk about?” Her bright smile faded slightly as she took in the atmosphere of the room.

Beth turned in her chair to squarely face the newcomer. “Good morning, Jerri-Lynn. I’m glad to see you so chipper. Why don’t you join us?”

“I think that may be a good idea.” She settled primly on the edge of an empty chair. “Bernie, I see you’ve met the girls?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but Cassie steamrolled over him. “Not exactly. Which is part of what we need to talk about.”

Jerri-Lynn blinked in surprise. “I see.” She settled a little more securely into her seat. “Where should we begin?”

“At the beginning, with introductions, of course,” Beth piped in. “It’s always good to know exactly who is a part of the conversation. Or who you’re sharing a table with. It may help to establish certain connections.” She stressed the last word the slightest amount. 

“Ah. Of course. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I’m sorry.” Jerri-Lynn gestured toward each of the women in turn. “Allow me to introduce Cassie and Beth. Cassie and I have been friends since high school, when I started running with what Mama called ‘the wrong sort’. I’ve actually known Beth a bit longer, but we were never a part of the same crowd until Cassie moved back home some years back.” She nodded toward the man. “Ladies, this is Bernard Wilson Walker the third. We know him as Bernie. He and Tim were roommates for three years in college, until Bernie graduated and moved on to a rather unremarkable career as a mediocre travel writer for the Washington Daily.”

“Hey! I resemble that remark,” he quipped. He turned curiously toward the couple. “No last names?”

Jerri-Lynn patted the table in his direction. “I know you do, honey. 

Beth shook her head. “No last names. Not today.”

“Wait a minute. The Washington Daily?” Cassie sat next to Beth, leaning forward in her chair slightly. “Isn't that one of the few up there that doesn’t fall on either side of the political spectrum?”

Bernie nodded. “We try. And the paper is failing for it. We’re not able to pull in money from either side the way the rest of the news sources are. With everything so completely bipartisan and everybody vying for the latest smear article, it’s hard to make it by just reporting facts and trying to stay away from overt bias.”

“Overt?”

“Yeah.” Bernie picked at the corner of the newspaper. “Everybody has a personal bias. Everybody has personal opinions. No matter how hard you try not to show them, they still come through.”

“I see.” Beth sipped delicately at her coffee.

Cassie spun her cup between her hands. “So do I. But I don’t see what your bias is. Or whether or not you’re a part of the problem.”

Jerri-Lynn shot upright in her seat. “What do you mean? I would never allow a harmful person to stay for a season!”

“No,” Cassie agreed slowly, “But what is harmful to you and what is harmful to us are not always the same thing.”

“I suppose you’re right.” The redhead slumped a bit. “I never thought of that.”

“That’s okay. Most people don’t. They don’t have to.” Beth gave her a reassuring smile.

“I have a proposal,” Bernie said. “It may be beneficial to all of us in the end. You want to know if I’m trustworthy. I want to see more of what happens around here. Plus, if we find the arrangement agreeable, you’ll have an outlet for your story other than...” He tossed the paper into the middle of the table. “I propose that we spend the next week together. At least during the day. I sleep here, you in the cabin. That way we all have our personal space, I have a chance to prove myself to you, and you have an extra witness.”

“Just in case,” Cassie stated.

“Not only just in case, but to see what you do on a daily basis. Both in the ‘day in the life of a local’ for the Daily article, but also to have another set of eyes as a witness to what happens in the aftermath. I’m assuming this rag was right about there being an investigation. An extra person to watch the proceedings might help. Also an extra pair of eyes and ears while dealing with the insurance companies, as none of what is discussed should be too personal. An extra pair of hand to clean up and rebuild, if needed.” He shrugged a shoulder. “At least until I leave.”

“And not a word gets published.”

He sat back and blinked. “What?”

“I said not a word gets published. Anywhere.” Cassie pointed an accusing finger at him. “You’re trying to worm your way into our private lives immediately after something both terrifying and devastating happened. Plus, you’re trying to use the opportunity to get a story. I. Don’t. Like. It.”

Beth put a restraining hand on Cassie’s arm. “Or maybe, if we can agree,” she nodded toward her partner, “Maybe nothing gets published unless both of us specifically approve it and sign off on it in writing. You will need to put something out for your assignment, after all, and you specifically said something about a day in the life type of thing.”

Cassie laid a hand over Beth’s. “Maybe,” she muttered.

“We’ll have to discuss this before giving you a definite yes or no answer,” Beth told Bernie. She smiled at Jerri-Lynn. “I can truly appreciate the fact that you are vouching for this gentleman, but you understand that some things just require a little privacy.”

Jerri-Lynn rocked back with smothered laughter. “Oh, honey! I grew up under the eye of the mouth of the south. If anybody knows about wanting a secret or two, it’s me.”

“That’s why I’m sure you understand that we’re not going to jump on this opportunity immediately. I don’t even want to imagine what the paper is already saying. The thought that any of it might go national is just too much to think about right now.”

“It’s bad enough that the whole town seems to be in on this in one way or another,” Cassie added.

At that moment Tim stuck his head in trough the hall door. A quick look around to assess the situation was all that he needed. He pointed at Cassie. “You. Come on, I’ve got some information, then you need to make a phone call. The rest of you play nice.” He disappeared just as quickly as he had popped in.

Beth reached over and patted Cassie’s thigh. “Go on, then. I’ll be just fine and promise not to go far.”

Cassie rose, bent to peck Beth on the top of the head, and managed to shoot Bernie a warning glare before she reached the door. The other three sat in silence until they heard a door down the hall slam shut. Jerri-Lynn winced.

“Don’t worry. She hasn’t cracked the plaster in a couple of years,” Beth said mildly.

“She hasn’t had to deal with anything like this in a couple of years, either,” Jerri-Lynn shot back.

Bernie looked from one to the other. “She’s got a lot of rage built up, doesn’t she?”

Beth’s mild smile offset Jerri-Lynn’s snort of amusement.

“Rage is only the start of it, honey. There’s a lot more to that one than the angry face she shows to the world. Some of the stunts she used to pull!” The redhead leaned forward against the table, little wrinkles forming at the corners of her eyes as she gave a conspiratorial grin. “And most of them for a good reason, too. Why, I remember when she first started growing a little bitty baby combative attitude. Before that she was so mild, then she started fighting back, mostly over little things. Then that whole thing happened our sophomore year. She had just dumped Jeremy Strickland at the football game after she found out--”

“Whoa. Stop. Jeremy Strickland?”

“Well yes. He was the--”

“You mean the governor’s son?”

“Yes but--”

“He’s well known for only dating incredibly feminine women.”

“Well yes, but--”

“And he’s a… well, a he!”

Beth set her cup down with a loud thump. “Stop. Both of you. We are going to establish a few unshakable ground rules right here and right now. If they are broken, I am absolutely certain that both Cass and I will cut people out of our lives. Surgical removal. Gone.” She looked Jerri-Lynn directly in the eye. “You know we are more than capable.”

Beth waited for motions of acknowledgment before she sat forward and lifted a finger.

“First off, all of our voices carry equal weight. Talking over the top of somebody else, cutting them off, and interrupting are all incredibly rude behaviors. It shows a lack of respect for the person who is talking. It indicates that you don’t care about what they have to say, that you are not interested in their opinions, and that you are more than willing to disregard the value their experiences hold. It’s a hard habit to break, but can be done with some effort.”

She added a second finger. “None of us share other people’s personal stories. Ever. Not even the old ones from high school. This was one of those rules I struggled with, since I grew up here, where the gossip spread faster than pollen in spring. It’s a way of life and we’re all brought up to think of it as something you’re supposed to do. But it’s also a way of sharing way too much detail about too many people and revealing other people’s secrets.”

A third finger rose. “Our love lives are our own business. Nobody else’s. Who we have dated, who we have slept with, who we would like to date, and who we would like to sleep with is nobody’s god damned business but our own. Not unless the person trusts you enough to tell you specifically what’s going on in their head. For example: I will gladly admit to wanting to have a wild night or five with Cate Blanchett. And Richard Armitage. Together or separately. Doesn’t matter. But if somebody suspects I’ve got something going on with Ruby down on Second, they can either keep that speculation to themselves or ask me directly. And I can refuse to answer. It’s nobody’s business but my own.” One corner of her mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Well, except Cass and Ruby, but they would be directly involved.”

Jerri-Lynn drew in a sharp breath.

“No, there’s nothing going on with Ruby. I drew her out of thin air as an example because I delivered donuts to her yesterday for the quilting group.” Beth shot her a warning look before lifting a fourth finger. “Anybody can refuse to give information to anybody else for any reason. Especially if it’s about another person or another person’s situation.”

Beth looked Jerri-Lynn in the eye first, then Bernie. Slowly she sat back and turned her attention to her coffee.

“Beth,” Jerri-Lynn whined, “This takes away about half of what I can say. It will ruin my standing among friends.”

“Yes, it does. And it will,” she agreed.

“How am I supposed to carry on my tradition of long conversations?”

“By listening.” Beth’s dimples shone with her grin. “You get all the best and juiciest tidbits if people learn you’ll keep their secrets. Straight from the source itself.”

“But what am I supposed to tell people?”

Beth sipped at the coffee, then pulled a face and set it aside. “Got cold.” She sighed. “You’ve never though about that before, have you? Ever?”

“Well… Enough to be better than Mama.”

Bernie snorted, then began laughing silently, a hand covering his mouth and his shoulders shaking violently.

“Look, I know that’s not setting the bar very high,” Jerri-Lynn snapped. “I know that better than either one of you. Now if you’re so smart, mister, why don’t you tell me what to say to people?”

“I’m not the one to ask. It’s my job to tell everybody the good stuff, remember?”

“Aww, you forgot one of the first rules of reporting.” Beth tugged at her braid to accentuate her words. “Always (tug) go (tug) to the source.” Tug.

“Yes, but...” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

Beth grinned. “Try me.”

“All right.” Bernie sat back and propped an ankle on his knee. “What was that about Jeremy Strickland?”

Beth sat back as well. “What would you like to know?”

“Anything you can tell me would be a good start.”

Beth shrugged. “I met him once or twice. To be honest, he never impressed me.”

“Really?” Jerri-Lynn leaned across the table. “He was always one of the biggest catches around.”

Beth hummed noncommittally.

The redhead slapped the table. “Oh, come on. He was one of the star football players, always had lots of friends, everybody knows he’s going to inherit his daddy’s money… He could have just about anybody he wants. He could then, too. Why wouldn’t you go for that?”

“Why would I, if he already had everything he wanted? My chances were slim anyway. Besides, it was fairly likely he would have just ruined what little reputation I had in those days and toss my aside. I really got the impression he made a habit of it.”

Bernie covered a smile with his hand. “Where did you get that information, if you don’t gossip.”

Beth dimpled at him. “Oh, I’ve heard some things. But that’s not my story to tell. Like I said, I wasn’t involved.”

“Oh, you’re good,” Jerri-Lynn laughed. “I’ll have to remember that line.”

“I hope you do. Does that mean we’re all on board with these rules? Everybody can stick to them, with a little effort?” Beth looked back and forth between the other two, waiting until they both nodded their agreement. “Good. I’ll pass them by Tim, too. He’ll help keep us all accountable.” She turned her attention to Bernie. “Cassie has her reasons for being overprotective of her boundaries. I’ll talk to her about the possibility of you following us around for a while. I may be able to convince her that you will do a better job than the local 50 shades of gossip there.” She indicated the forgotten newspaper.

“That’s all I can really ask for at this point,” he agreed.

\----------------

Beth was humming to herself as she wiped won the kitchen counter. Jerri-Lynn was obviously a stranger to the area and had left quite a mess. Even though the breakfast had been a fairly simple affair, it had taken the blonde nearly an hour to get everything back into shape. She swiped the last little bit down, gave the washcloth a quick rinse in the deep sink, and turned to toss it into the basket near the door. She yelped and jumped in surprise when she turned.

“Sweet baby Jesus, you scared me!” she laughed.

Cassie stood up from where she had been leaning against he door frame. “Sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay. I was just about ready to come looking for you, anyway.”

Cassie nodded, staring at Beth. One foot scuffed back and forth against the tile. 

Beth came to her, dropping the washcloth into the basket as she passed it. She wrapped her arms around the shorter woman’s shoulder to draw her close. One hand crept up and tangled in Cassie’s short hair as she pressed her head to her chest, lifting her chin to set it atop of Cassie’s head.

Cassie stood stiffly for a long moment, her hands dug deeply into her pockets. Eventually she sighed, her shoulders dropping. She wrapped her arms around Beth’s waist. “I love you, you know,” she mumbled in the direction of Beth’s armpit.

“I love you back, you know,” Beth whispered.

They stood there, holding each other, drawing comfort from the silence. Beth started to rock from side to side, taking Cassie with her. Cassie began to sniffle quietly.

“Hey...” Beth drew back just enough to look into Cassie’s eyes. “I know it’s tough, but we’re okay.”

Cassie shook her head. “Not as okay as you think.”

“Well, we could use a change of clothes and our toothbrushes.”

“No, Beth. We’re really not as okay as you think.”

Beth drew a deep breath and stepped back. “Something happened. Something with those phone calls.”

Cassie nodded.

“Something very not good.”

Another nod.

“Something you don’t want to tell me, but you’re going to anyway.”

Cassie sniffled, then nodded again. She swiped a tear away from one reddened eye. “I’m lucky to have you.”

“Because I’m smart and beautiful and you’re going to listen to my advice since I’m always right?”

“That too. Except when you’re wrong. But also because you’re strong for me when I can’t be and I’m scared witless right now.”

Beth reached out and lifted Cassie’s chin with her finger, ducking her won head slightly. She waited until the made direct eye contact. “Tell me.”

Cassie swallowed hard. “They got the house, too.”

Beth’s face melted into a coldly neutral expression. She brought herself up to her full height. “Tell me.”

“This morning.” Cassie slumped back against the door frame. “Tim got ahold of Jackson last night, so he knew to call here. There was some graffiti again, and somebody set fire to the living room. Jackson called as soon as the address came across the wire. That’s when Tim came and got me.”

“Somebody got bold. That was well after daylight.”

“Yeah. That worries me.”

“At least we shouldn’t be suspects. We were here eating breakfast.”

Cassie nodded and started to scuff her foot again.

“I’m assuming you called in on the renter’s insurance?”

Another nod.

“Are we allowed to gather some essentials, or is everything going to be off limits?”

“We can’t go in at all. Jackson said that one of the officers would get our lock box of important papers for us. All the books for the bakery are backed up on the laptop. That’s in the car, so we have that. But we can’t get anything else for at least a few days.”

Beth reached up to tug at her braid, her eyes unfocused but twitching back and forth, as if they were tracking the thoughts she was chasing in her mind. Cassie watched, waiting. Despite the vacant expression and unconscious movement of her partner’s hand as it tugged at her braid, she knew that Beth’s mind was running in high gear. Years of living together gave her the experience to know that the more distant the blonde seemed, the more mental calculations were being made. Slowly she seemed to regain focus. Finally she blinked rapidly a few times, then settled her gaze on Cassie. “All right. I have an idea. You’re not going to like it, but hear me out.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but nodded.

“We need to go public. Big public, not what’s been happening here. No details that are too personal, and we can expect gossip on a global scale instead of just locally despite that, but I think it would be worth it. We need to become the new faces of the hour. Victims of the latest wave of LGBT phobic people.” She started pacing back and forth, counting things off on her fingers. “We need to be a hashtag, a trending subject, a human interest piece, a scandal to the churches. Hell, I’d be happy if we got our own subforum and a statement from the president.”

Cassie held up a hand. “Hold on. Two questions. First: how do we retain our privacy? Second: how do we accomplish all of this?”

“To the first…” Beth shrugged. “We really don’t. We’re going public, after all. A lot of things will be compromised. A lot of the town rumors will go global, like I said. But there are also a lot of things that we just don’t tell anybody. Our reputations are already shot, and we can’t really expect anything different.”

Cassie made a low whining sound in the back of her throat. Her back stiffened and she crossed her arms defensively.

Beth held up a finger. “As to the other, it’s kind of funny that you should ask. This morning while you were on the phone I had a nice conversation with Bernie and Jerri-Lynn.”

“Uh huh.”

“Yep. We laid out some ground rules. They are very similar to the ones you and I laid out when we first started dating. If they’re followed, we may be able to get widespread public opinion on our side without compromising ourselves too much. And they’ll help.”

Cassie made that whining sound again.

“Just hear me out, here. Let me tell you what I have in mind.”

Over the next couple of hours Beth gave a recap of the morning’s conversation, then laid out the base of her plan. Reluctantly Cassie agreed. Then the two of them, together, started sketching out the framework in their minds. In a relatively short amount of time they had come into full agreement over Beth’s plan – contingent on Jerri-Lynn, Tim, and Bernie agreeing to go along with it. Once they had agreed on what needed to happen they split up. Beth went to the B and B office to find their friends, and Cassie went to hunt down Bernie.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little shopping, and a discovery of one of Cassie's hidden talents

“Yes, I know. I’m not fond of them, either,” Cassie said.

The tinny voice coming through the speaker phone snorted. “Don’t know why you insist on having one here, then.” The man sighed. “Whatever. Just have him get the paperwork together.”

“I’ll make sure he knows.” She looked over her shoulder to where Bernie sat taking notes in the back seat. She waited until he stopped writing and nodded. “I think I’ve got all the information down. We’ll get rolling on that this evening.”

“Let me know when you get it done.” There was a crackling sound, followed by another man’s muffled voice in the background. “Gotta go.” The line went dead, followed quickly by the tone indicating a call had ended.

“Well then. That’s settled.” Beth pulled smoothly to the curb. “Are we all ready to go shopping?”

Bernie leaned forward between the front seats to squint at the sign on the brick building. “The church run second hand store? What are we doing here?”

Beth turned to look at him, the picture of wide eyed innocence. “Why, Mister Walker, don’t you know? This is where the hurt, poor, and downtrodden are supposed to come for help. All that we have left – that we can get to, anyway – is in this car. We’re the perfect candidates for a little assistance, don’t you think?”

Cassie poked at her. “That and they’re cheap. We just need a couple sets of clothes apiece, at least for now.”

“That too,” laughed Beth.

“We’ll stop at one of the chain stores for socks and undies.” Cassie opened her door and stepped out. “Come on, then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

The sleigh bells hanging from the bar on the door jingled merrily as they walked in. The sound caught the attention of the two elderly ladies sitting behind the register. Cassie smiled broadly at them. “Hello Miss Claire, Miss Eliza. I’m sure you both heard what happened?”

“Of course we did, you poor dears,” the pale one said as she set aside a pencil and tossed a paperback into a box. “Such a shame we can’t come by for our morning croissants anymore. And then your house, too?” she tutted.

“Now Claire. You hush. They don’t need you fussin'. They need help gettin' by, and that’s why we’re here.” She struggled to her feet, reaching for a nearby cane. She shuffled slowly around the counter, the bright floral print of her dress swaying as her body toddled with every step.

“That’s all right, Miss Eliza. I’m sure Bethany and her friend will be glad to tell Miss Claire everything that they can while you and I try to find something fitting for me. Not that we know anything you don’t by now.”

Eliza barked a short laugh. “You’re right about that. We know everythin' in this town. Now for clothes. You leave that up to me and I may well get you into a dress yet.”

“Maybe. But probably not today.” Cass offered her arm to the older lady, who tucked a dark hand into the crook of her elbow. The other three watched, bemused, as the formally erect matriarch and the compact tomboy made their way to the small petites section in the far corner.

“Huh...” Bernie shook his head. “That girl’s a constant surprise, isn’t she?”

“Oh, I don’t know. She and Miss Eliza have a few things in common. They can relax around each other.”

“I may have to ask her about that later.”

Beth smiled at him. “I don’t know how much she would tell you. Both of those ladies are very private people.” She turned her attention to the woman behind the counter. “I’m sorry we were ignoring you, Miss Claire. I’m going to need a few outfits, and if you have some of the charity toiletry packages, one of those with an extra toothbrush and an extra deodorant would be greatly appreciated.”

“Just one?”

“Yes, please.”

Claire heaved a sigh. “And here I was hoping...” she cast a loaded glance at Bernie, who studiously ignored it by inspecting some glass jewelry through the display case under the register.

“Oh no. Not at all. Cassie and I are happy living together. Partners often do. Mister Walker here is a friend of both Tim Wright and myself. He came down to attend the wedding and decided to stay on for a while. As far as I know, there are no designs.”

His full attention snapped to Beth. “Any what?”

She giggled. “Designs. As far as I know, you’re not planning on proposing marriage to me anytime soon.”

Claire clucked her tongue as she sat a paper lunch bag on the counter top. “Such a shame. Here’s some soap, toothpaste a couple of toothbrushes, some shampoo and conditioner samplers, two small deodorant stick, and even a hairbrush and some supplies.” The last word was a harsh whisper.

“Thank you so much.” Beth leaned across the counter to touch Claire’s arm. “Do you mind if I leave this right here while I find some clothes?”

Bernie snagged the bag and tucked it under his arm. “I’ve got it.”

“Or maybe not. Thank you.” She smiled at him before she wandered off through the racks of clothes.

Before he followed her, Bernie half turned toward Claire. “What did you mean, it’s a shame?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, well, you’re Bethany’s friend. Aren’t you a little concerned?”

He shook his head sharply. “I don’t understand. I’m concerned about their house and business, but what else?”

“About her getting _married_ , of course.” Claire picked up a paperback and carefully wrote a price on the inner cover as she spoke. “We all thought it was all right for the two of them to live together while they were getting started. They have been friends for years, after all. But really,” her pencil paused in the middle of marking another price and she peered over the rims of her glasses at him. “Don’t you think it’s time those girls grew up? They need to find husbands to take care of them and settle down. They can’t live with friends the rest of their lives.” She continues her pricing. “Besides, there are rumors that have been going around for a few years that they’re doing unnatural and sinful things. I don’t believe a word of it, but people are talking.”

“Is that why those things were painted on their property?”

“The rumors?” Claire gave a decisive nod. "Of course. Some people will believe anything they hear. But as I said, I’m not one of them.”

Bernie leaned against the counter top, his voice dropping conspiratorially. “Really? Why not?”

She looked up and blinked at him owlishly. “It doesn’t make any sense. They don’t strike me as being those types. Wouldn’t they look more like men? Wouldn’t they do things like work on cars or watch sports? Wouldn’t they hate men, and refuse to be around them?” She shook her head.

“I don’t know. Would they?”

“Of course they would,” Claire scoffed. “But they don’t and now they’re confused and in trouble. Look at this mess. What they need is a couple of good men to come and sweep them off their feet.”

“And you think I’m a prime candidate?” He grinned at her.

She stopped to give him a frank appraisal, the bodice ripper in her hand momentarily forgotten. She took in his thick black hair, the faint wrinkles at the corners of his bright blue eyes that his cheeky grin enhanced, his stocky build. The fact that he was just shorter than average caused the hem of his t shirt to hang a little low, though his jeans fit tightly across his thick thighs. “Well, maybe not,” she admitted. “You’re a little too barrel shaped for my tastes.”

He pulled himself to his full height and pressed a hand dramatically to his chest. “Miss Claire, I am wounded!” he declared. When she raised her brows at him he gave her a broad wink. He heard her giggle in a childish way as he turned to find Beth and Cassie.

\----------------

A few hours later the three of them were facing each other around an outdoor table at a chain restaurant. Beth and Cassie had changed into some of the clothes they had gotten from the thrift store. “They wash everything before it’s put on the racks, so we know it’s clean,” Beth explained when Bernie looked askance at them when they emerged from the rest room in different clothes. The back of the scion had bags from multiple stores in it, full of the basic necessities the women would need to restart.

Beth and Cassie munched their sandwiches as Bernie filled them in on the details of his conversation. With Claire. “It’s hard for them to believe there are people like that. They just believe stereotypes and don’t think anything can deviate from that.” He swiped a fry through ketchup and pointed it at them. “They’re either too lazy or too afraid to go find out for themselves whether it’s true or not.”

“Afraid, in Claire’s case,” Beth said.

Cassie hummed her agreement. “Definitely afraid. Which Is why I let Beth tackle her. She’s good with afraid.”

“Well, that and you don’t have the patience to deal with her stereotyping.”

Cassie slurped at her soda and shrugged.

Bernie chewed on his fry thoughtfully. “Doesn’t it bother you that she was trying to marry you off?”

Cassie made a little ‘pfft’ noise. “Most of the women in the tri-county area start playing matchmaker with little girls before they’re even born.” She folded her hands under her chin in a pious manner and put a falsely high lilt to her voice. “Well, you KNOW that little Betsy Johnson Is expecting a girl next spring, and both Amanda Barnes and Lucy Jacobs just had little boys. I bet that Betsy’s little girl will have those big blue eyes of her mama’s, and if she does she would have such pretty babies with Lucy’s boy! But if she gets her daddy’s brown eyes then Amanda’s boy would be the perfect match to finally get them two families to stop arguing and bury the hatchet. I mean, for pity’s sake, the whole thing started when the great great grand daddies of the families both fell for the same woman, you know. It’s about time it gets settled out.”

Beth snickered.

“Well that’s how it is,” Cassie protested.

“I know. You’re never going to forgive them for that, are you?”

“Not anytime soon,” Cassie said dryly.

“I’m confused,” Bernie admitted. “Is that really how it is here? And forgive who for what?”

Beth nodded. “That’s exactly how it is. All the girls are raised to fight for a good position in local society by either marrying up or marrying somebody who will help make beautiful children. Then, when the children get old enough, if the mother can make a match that enables the children to marry up, they will better the social status of that entire branch of the family. It’s starts before they’re born, too. As for the other, well...” she tipped her head toward Cass.

Bernie turned his eyes toward her, stuffed his mouth full of hamburger, and raised his brows expectantly.

“Charming.” Cassie sighed. “It’s pretty common knowledge to the locals that there are two families in the area that haven’t gotten along for a few generations. It’s also well known that a woman caused all of this. In a nutshell, what happened is that these two guys were fighting over her, going over her head to her dad. Daddy dearest was ignoring the fact that she thought both of these guys were pretty despicable. Meanwhile both of them were trying to convince him that the rival was scum and that they were a perfect match for this girl. Yeah?”

Bernie nodded to indicate he understood.

“Well she ran off with a yankee without telling anybody, leaving a note, nothing. Then they went and got married without asking her parents' permission. Not that they would have given it, since he was a northerner. It was a huge scandal, everybody blamed everybody else, and that started these two families fighting.” She paused to take a sip of soda. “It turns out my mom found her great grandma’s diaries, read them, and decided it would be all sorts of fun to find the ancestral home. Which is how she ended up here. She didn’t tell anybody who she was or why she came here until after she married my dad.”

“Why did the marriage change things?”

“Dad was the descendant of one of the original suitors. Since mom chose him, it gave credence to that side of the argument. Then she had me.” She picked up a fry in each hand. She wagged one of them at him. “On one side of the matchmaking debate was a really distant cousin a billion times removed, related to dad somehow. Dumb as a post. Zero potential for upward movement, and ensuring there would be food on the table on a daily basis was questionable, based on immediate family history. But I’ll be damned if the whole family didn’t produce pretty babies.” She lifted the other fry. “On the other side was the family mom didn’t choose. Much better social standing, better prospects, yadda yadda. If they could figure out how to get me permanently attached, it would supposedly put me ahead and ensure both families got a piece of the one that got away.”

“Then there was everybody else,” Beth added as she snagged a fry from the pile on Cassie’s place. “It was made clear that Cass was off limits to anybody except men from those two families.”

“Not just that, but very specific people from those two families.” Cassie stared at the two fries for a long moment. Then she snapped them both to her mouth and savagely bit the ends off.

“Ah.” Bernie nodded. “Jeremy Strickland being one of them?”

Cassie held up the second fry.

“And the other?”

“Last I heard he was in Massachusetts waiting for his first parole hearing. Should be...” she trailed off, her face scrunching in thought as she tried to remember.

“Two years,” Beth provided. “Then he gets his first hearing.”

Bernie looked back and forth between the two of them. “What did he do?”

Cassie tossed the fries down in disgust. “He found me. Ask me later. I might answer.” She stood and brushed her hands against the seat of her jeans. “Anyway, I need to get back. We start at the B and B tomorrow and I’ve got breakfast duty. That means getting in the kitchen by about 5:30. If we’re lucky I’ll wake up halfway through making the biscuits. If we’re unlucky, they’ll burn.”

\-------------------

By six the next morning the ground floor of the main house smelled like coffee. Bernie sniffed the air appreciatively as he descended the last couple of stairs. They had obviously meant it when they said Cassie and Beth would be taking over kitchen duty for Jerri-Lynn immediately.

He stopped by the office and stuck his head in. Jerri-Lynn was already sitting at her tidy desk, working her way through a columnar pad with an old fashioned ten key and a pencil.

“Morning,” he greeted her.

“It certainly is,” she mumbled. She made a discreet mark in her book before sticking the pencil into the prim bun at the base of her skull. “You sleep all right? I passed by a few times and saw the light on.”

He yawned as he nodded. “Better than you did, if I had to guess. I was just cutting through red tape. Trying to get all the paperwork done to be an official legal tag along. They don’t make it easy around here.”

She chuckled. “You’re not from here, that’s all. If you were local it would be a matter of a couple of signatures and a handshake.”

“I’ve only been here a few weeks. Haven’t gotten used to that yet.”

“You’re planning on staying a while longer, are you?”

“Yeah. I made a deal with the girls and I want to see that through. It’s something that could either make or break me, and will help them get back on their feet. Or not.”

Jerri-Lynn nodded slowly. “I understand that. We’re doing what we can to help them, too.” She peered up at him. “That said, you’re going to have to find another place to stay. The fall tourist season is coming up soon. Everything is booked full starting in about two weeks.”

“That’s not going to make things any easier.”

“No, it’s not. Especially if you’re seen around town with the two of them. Even more so if you start raising a stink about this whole thing before then.”

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “Another regional thing?”

“Yes, sir. Something you need to get used to.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Tim hasn’t yet, and he’s been here for years.” 

“Where is he, anyway? I thought he’d be sucking down coffee by now.”

“Still asleep. I reckon he’ll stay in bed for a good long while.” She rubbed at a lower eyelid, being careful not to smudge her mascara. “We decided that it would be a good idea to stroll random paths around the grounds at night. Just as a precaution, considering what’s happened. He finally came to bed around 4 or so. Said something about a light on in the cabin before he fell over.”

“At 4 in the morning?” Bernie’s voice was incredulous.

“It was probably Beth. She’ll get up for a couple of hours early in the morning, then nap before noon. When they ran the bakery she had a hammock in the storage pantry.”

“Huh. Odd.”

She leaned back in her chair to look at him. “Really? How so?”

He rubbed at a scruffy cheek thoughtfully. “Well… Why wouldn’t Beth just take first stab at things if she’s already up?”

Jerri-Lynn grinned impishly. “Because, my dear, she’s terrible at the breads and rolls and such that need to be started early. She can do incredible things with batter, but Cassie is an absolute wizard with the breakfast goods.” She shoved her chair back and got to her feet, kicking her shoes off under the desk. “Come on. I’ll show you something amazing. But if she hears us it will break the spell.”

The two of them padded down the hallway, their bare feet practically silent on the old hardwood. Jerri-Lynn pressed a finger to her painted lips as they approached the kitchen door, then peered in. She turned back to Bernie with a grin shining brightly across her features and waved him forward before peeking back around the corner. He zipped to the other side of the door frame and leaned around it to look.

There was nothing impressive at first. Cassie was standing at a counter facing away from them, her bare feet braced wide around where her cast off shoes lay between them. A flour hand print showed clearly across one cheek of her cut off shorts. Her hair stuck up on one side in the back. The muscles of her shoulders and back jumped underneath her tank top as she worked on something on the counter top. It was obvious she had been there for some time – the large kitchen was already warmer than the rest of the house, the smell of the coffee was stronger here, there was a warm yeasty scent just discernible under the bitter coffee, and there were several large bowls lined up in a row. Most of the bowls had plastic bags over the top of them. Yet another bowl was under a stand mixer, which was whirring along at a low speed.

Bernie turned to Jerri-Lynn, a question clear in his expression. She lifted a finger in a ‘wait a minute’ gesture before pointing to Cassie again. He turned back to the kitchen.

A few seconds later, Cassie hefted a large ball of light colored dough and tossed it into one of the bowls. She tucked a plastic grocery bag over the top, went back to where she had been standing, and repeated the process with a dark colored dough. They watched as she paused to open a few containers and suck down about a half a cup of coffee. It took a few more moments to shut down the mixer and detach the bowl from where it was locked into the stand. She scooped a fresh ball of dough out onto the counter and divided it into two equal parts.

Then the show began in earnest. Cassie stood over her shoes once more, a ball of dough ready at either side. Her hands flew from container to counter, each one moving at different speeds, right working completely independently from the left, each one measuring ingredients by the feel of the weight before scattering various ingredients atop the lumps of dough. Her right hand added white and dark chocolate chips and what looked to be chopped dried berries and started to knead them in even before her left hand had finished measuring and adding chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and oats to the second half of the dough. Within seconds of each other both hands were kneading. Her movements were automatic, almost machine-like. Every few strokes she would sweep one of the dough balls around in a circle, using it to gather any of the additives that had fallen loose. A few minutes of mechanical movement and she dropped these batches of dough into the last two bowls and covered them with bags.

Bernie glanced at Jerri-Lynn, who was biting back a grin. Her eyes were glued on her friend. Her shoulders started to shake with silent laughter. He turned back to find the source of amusement and was not disappointed. Cassie had turned around to lean her hind end against the counter. She reached back to fish blindly for the coffee cup, her head lolling back slightly and her jaw slack. She made a frustrated whining sound and lifted her head, one eye opening halfway so she could search for the mug. It took her a few seconds to spot it, and a few more to coordinate her movements enough to grab the handle and bring it to her lips. Almost immediately she groaned in protest. “Nooooo...” She forced her other eye open and blinked blearily at the contents.

Bernie tried to smother a laugh with his hand, but a sputtering noise escaped despite his best efforts. Jerri-Lynn gasped, then ran back toward the office, the sounds of her laughter and the pattering of bare feet left in her wake. Cassie slowly turned toward the sound. Bernie stepped into the door frame so she could see him clearly. She swayed on her feet, staring in his general direction, but obviously not quite looking at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She blinked twice. She managed to focus on him briefly, then looked at the cup in her hand. “’S broken,” she mumbled.

“Broken?”

She thrust the cup out at him, like a small child. His eyes crinkled in amusement as he came forward to look. He gently took it from her hand before inspecting it closely. It seemed to be fine. It was just a sturdy white mug. There were no chips or cracks on the outside. He tipped it to look inside.

“Oh. It’s empty.” He bent down a bit to peer into her face. “Are you even awake?”

She blinked at him in response, her mouth hanging slightly open.

“Ah. Okay. Let me get you some more.” He scanned the counter quickly. There was the electric coffee pot, unplugged and shoved unceremoniously into a corner. Immediately he turned to the stove. On one of the back burners an old, battered camp style percolator pot stood over a low flame. The white speckled blue finish had chipped in a few places. He shook his head. “Of course.” He snagged a flour covered towel and used it as a makeshift pot holder so he could safely fill the mug about three quarters the way. “Here you go,” he said as he set it next to Cassie and within easy reach. “Careful. It’s hot.”

She picked it up again almost before he had set it down, one hand curled firmly around the handle, the first finger and thumb of the other hand pressed near the rim to steady it. She brought it to her face. He lifted a hand to stop her, but she didn’t drink. She just buried her nose in it and inhaled deeply. He huffed a low laugh and went to find Jerri-Lynn.

He found her back in the office, buried in the balance sheets again. “Now I know why Beth gets up so early.”

“Hmm?” Jerri-Lynn added another number and wrote in the total at the bottom of the page before looking up. “Why is that?”

“I had to help her find coffee.”

“You had to what?” she laughed.

“I had to help her find coffee. She told me the cup was broken because there was no more magical bean juice in it, and I had to fill it up for her. Just without that many words." He shook his head in amazement. "She was doing all of that without any sort of higher brain function.”

Jerri-Lynn waved a hand as if she were tossing something down. “Oh, that. She’s done that pretty much since anybody can remember. Shoot, I remember her setting up the kitchen before we all would go to bed at sleepovers in high school. Didn’t matter where we were at, she would set it up. When we would get up in the morning she’d be halfway through baking a dozen loaves of bread and sometimes still snoring.” She grinned. “Literally.”

Bernie’s voice took on a slightly awed tone. “You know, I would call you a liar if I hadn’t seen that myself.”

“That’s what everybody else says, if they’re lucky enough to catch her at that point. If you wait for about an hour she may be fully conscious. She might even put you to work.”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind. What kind of work?”

“Bacon duty. She’ll want fresh grease for the biscuits.” She smiled and made a shooing motion with both hands. “Now go away. I’ve got to finish this before my 10 o’clock meeting with the bank. Scoot.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days were relatively uneventful. Beth and Cassie were in a holding pattern with the insurance companies, pending results of the police investigations of both incidents. Both investigations were at a standstill pending their sharing the calls, voicemails, and emails that had been flooding in. The couple were adamant in refusing to share any of the information until Bernie had clearance to be present as a witness, complete with permission to publish what he saw and heard as a part of his experience, sans the few details deemed to be private by either the police or the victims. 

In the meantime the three of them established a routine. Beth would guide Cassie to the kitchen early in the morning and keep her company until somebody else came downstairs. Cassie and her new companion would finish breakfast and breads for the day while Beth went back to the cabin for a nap. Both of them worked to get lunch served, then spent the afternoon at their own personal pursuits. The two of them became accustomed to Bernie coming and going at odd moments. At Beth’s suggestion he started helping put together the evening meal. They found that he was rather accomplished as a cook. He also had a good number of recipes that were either quick to prepare or designed to be cooked slowly over the course of a number of hours – stick it on the heat and forget it, crock pot style things. Both options allowed them all to be away from the kitchen for longer periods of time.

Tim and Jerri-Lynn went out of their way to thank them. Not only did their efforts free up time to prepare for the fall tourists, but they also ensured that the B and B would not have to hire an entire kitchen staff for the busy seasons. There had been some talk of hiring a couple of part time people so that Cassie and Beth could have a couple of days off, but nothing concrete had been decided. 

About a week after Beth and Cassie moved into the cabin they gathered at one end of the dining room table to have a meeting with Bernie, Tim, and Jerri-Lynn. It centered around the possibility of hiring on kitchen help, meal planning, and grocery lists for the six weeks of peak leaf viewing season. Breakfasts and lunches would be unchanged, but the B and B was known for their spectacular seasonal four course evening meals, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. They eventually hashed out a sketchy calendar of meals, providing the option to change things as more vegetables were harvested locally.

Jerri-Lynn held the calendar, dubiously reading over the hastily scribbled notes. “I’m still not sure about being able to change things up so much,” she sighed. “Especially on such short notice. The people who stay here are accustomed to having a schedule planned out for them well ahead of time. They don’t like change much. I’m worried about what it will do to our reputation if somebody is coming here expecting pecan pie made from the nuts harvested in the yard, but find out that they all dropped early and there are no more, or something like that.”

Cassie laughed softly. “Considering how much has been up in the air, and the number of months these people have been dealing with major changes on a nearly daily basis? Whether it’s pecan or apple pie seems like small potatoes. A minor irritant rather than something that’s going to either make or break them all.”

“If it’s that much of a problem, we can always buy ingredients from outside the area, too. Just like we always have. But the whole point is to keep it as local as we can.” Tim shrugged. “Seems to be business as normal, but keeping it close instead of outsourcing foodstuffs.”

“It would look good,” Bernie pointed out. “It becomes both trendy and part of a current grassroots movement to buy as many ingredients as you can from locals. You can advertise it on your website, and I can include it as one of the features of the establishment in my travel article.”

“Easy to say when y’all don’t have to be face to face with the guests,” Jerri-Lynn mumbled.

“When is that article coming out?” Tim asked.

“It’s been extended into a multi part series, since I’m staying down here for longer than anticipated. The first article has come out as sort of a basic introduction to the area and some of the larger attractions. The deadline for publishing next week’s installation is on Wednesday at midnight. This time the whole thing is on the B and B itself.”

“It’s not a bad idea to go local, and the publicity would be good,” Beth conceded. “Word would spread locally, too. You know how it is here. You help one family and they’ll help you at some point in the future.”

Cassie nodded. “We passed by the Johnson place yesterday. It looked like they had a good sized field of pumpkins. It may be a good place to start.”

Jerri-Lynn grunted in agreement. “Martha was saying something about that the other day. They’re getting ripe sooner than they expected.”

“No big jack o lanterns for the porch this year?” Tim asked.

“Not from them,” said Jerri-Lynn.

Cassie leaned in on her elbows. “So let me get this straight. One of the poorest families in the area is going to be out some couple thousand dollars because the pumpkins got too ripe too early. We’re going to cash in if we buy locally--”

“Possibly,” Tim interjected.

Cassie pointed at him in concession. “Possibly cash in if we buy locally. You’re right. Not to mention we were just talking about seasonal dishes. Pumpkin is a huge seasonal flavor, and if we got some fresh every day, we could really help them survive. I know for a fact the land was about a half a minute from being seized by the bank last year, and those last minute sales of the corn and pumpkins are all that kept them afloat.”

The rest of them stared at her.

“It really is about basic survival, isn’t it?” Bernie asked.

“Sometimes,” Beth shrugged. “Which is part of why the buy local movement exists. People have gotten tired of putting extra money into the pockets of the top tier at big companies, so they have turned to supporting the local businesses and the individuals in a community.”

Cassie nodded. “Exactly. If we get names of other people in similar situations we could help them, too. Locally source eggs, meat, maybe some of the fruits. The whole thing might even find itself in an article.” She raised her brows at Bernie as if in question.  
He nodded slowly. “It might get worked in somewhere.”

Tim pulled thoughtfully at his lower lip. “I wonder… It’s something we’ll need to talk about, but I wonder if this could be the start of a rebranding campaign. Take this place from the posh and elite image it currently has to more of a gateway to life in the area.”

Jerri-Lynn sucked in a breath as she pulled herself stiffly erect. She slowly lowered the calendar to the table, pressing it flat with both hands.

Tim shot both hands up in the air as if in surrender. “Not yet! Don’t rip my head off before hearing what I have to say.”

Jerri-Lynn pursed her lips tightly shut. One foot tapped rapidly against the floor. She gestured for him to go on, then crossed her arms under her breasts.

“Okay. Good.” He drew a deep breath, obviously pausing to choose his words carefully before continuing. “I know you and your family have worked exceptionally hard to build the reputation this place has. It’s worked for a long time. You’ve seen some big names here.”

“Damned right,” Jerri-Lynn muttered.

“I don’t want to tarnish that reputation at all. Having people understand that being able to stay here is a privilege is important. Having some of the best creative chefs in the area will enhance that.” He nodded briefly toward the other women. “But you were telling me just the other day that profits are… slim”

He waited until she sighed softly, her shoulders slumping a fraction.

“What that tells me is the most elite are less interested in coming here. It’s still an ivory tower and divorced from the rest of the world, but it’s not a trendy tower, which means it’s isolated from the people we need to come and stay. So here’s my thought: we start billing this as a place to become involved with helping ‘the little guy’. Every month or so we have some sort of feature, and hire Bernie here to write something about the people involved with creating it.” He flashed a grin at his friend. “It will help pay for the room. Bum.”

Bernie pretended to scratch his cheek, extending his middle finger as he did.

“For example: we were talking about pumpkins. Great. Our feature for the last half of September and first half of October would be local pumpkin patches. There could be a write up about the Johnson family and how they’ve worked that land for so many generations. Make sure to put something in about their efforts and work ethic, of course. Then make sure it’s obvious they are the local source for our feature of the month, and that booking with us will ensure that we can help them keep farming. Make it sound like staying here is almost the equivalent to paying the Johnsons for the work they do because it’s a direct line from the guests to us to the Johnsons.”

Cassie snorted. “It is, if we can cut a deal with them.”

Tim nodded. “Yes, but we take our cut off the top. They don’t get all of the cash. We still charge for the rooms and meals and yadda yadda, but they will certainly do better than if they were not featured at all. If it’s worded well, it will feed into the idea that the elites who stay here are a sort of hero to the poor working schmuck. It should appeal to the not so elite who like direct actions as well. And it’s not going to tarnish the reputation of the place. It may even enhance it by adding the feel good hero complex slant to the southern elite meets down home vibe we already have going here.”

The more he talked, the slower the tapping of Jerri-Lynn’s foot became, until it stilled altogether. By the time he finished she was leaning forward slightly. “That may work,” she admitted. She turned her attention to Bernie. “Are you willing to do those write ups for us?”

He shrugged. “Sure. As long as I’m here I might as well.”

Beth and Cassie looked at each other, then turned to stare at him.

“What?”

“Something in your voice...” Beth shrugged one shoulder. “It sounded as if there were some question about your staying.”

“Ah. That.” Jerri-Lynn folded her hands atop the table. “That may be a question here in a few days.”

Cassie’s voice became suddenly cold, with a warning undertone cutting through it. “Just where would you be going? And why?”

Jerri-Lynn sighed. “Now don’t go getting mad at him. It’s just that we’re booked full starting this weekend. We need the room he’s in. We can’t afford to lose the paying guests and our reputation would suffer if we cancelled their reservation.”

“So you’re going… where?” Cassie asked.

Bernie ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know yet. There’s a convention or something going on and everything is full.”

Cassie stared at him hard for a few seconds, then straightened, turning to Beth. She twisted her lips to one side and waggled her head back and forth. Beth sighed. She studied her fingernails, dug some dirt out from underneath one, and studied them again. Finally she gave a tiny nod.

Cassie turned back to Bernie and stood up. “Get your stuff together.”

He sat back in surprise. “Wait. What?”

“The couch in the cabin is a foldout. It’s temporary, but it’s a bed. Get your stuff together,” she called over her shoulder as she left.

“Well that’s settled,” Beth said mildly. She offered a gentle smile to Tim and Jerri-Lynn. “I would suggest that one of you get ahold of the Johnson clan. I believe a deal needs to be worked out sooner rather than later, if guests will be arriving within the next few days.”

Jerri-Lynn nodded. “I’ll give them a call right after you get off the phone.”

Beth paused halfway out of her chair. “Me?”

“You know Rick? Sergeant Brooks?”

Beth nodded.

“Jackson told him to call here to get ahold of you. You need to call him. I’ve got his direct number for you. Seems he’s got some ideas he wants to bounce off of you that he did not want to share with me for some reason.”

Beth hummed noncommittally.

Tim grunted. “Sounds like that’s the next stop for you ladies. I’ve got to go check the laundry. It’s been a bear trying to get all of the bedding freshened up in time, and I’m sure there will be more to do later. We need to get all the extras out and aired in case of accidents.”

Within a few moments the dining room was empty and silent.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie's new living quarters and an interview

“I’m not sure how to thank you for this.” Bernie hung his garment bag in the coat closet and turned to look at the girls. “I was supposed to go back north last week. This whole thing has thrown off everybody’s plans.”

Beth raised her brows. “Oh? You think?”

“Yeah. Well.” He scuffed his foot against the floorboards.

“I know how you can thank us.” Cassie looked up from where she had curled into a wing-backed chair with a book.

“Oh?” Beth asked again as she hefted Bernie’s suitcase onto the couch.

Cassie hummed in assent. “Make sure this blows up, and soon.”

“And how, pray tell, do you expect me to do that?” Bernie groused. “Nothing is happening.”

Beth gestured to a door on the left side of the room. “Our room. You get the couch. It pulls out into a bed.” She pointed to the one next to it. “Bathroom. We all share.” She tipped her head slightly to one side. “I think that ‘nothing is happening’ could be fixed very shortly. While the two of you were packing and carrying, I was on the phone. I set up a new email address completely disconnected from Sweet Cheeks and our personal emails. Rick – Sergeant Brooks – made the suggestion. He also suggested that I ask for copies of the crime scene photos for our own personal records.”

Cassie casually turned a page. “Be a shame if any of them got leaked.”

“Absolute tragedy,” Beth agreed.

“Especially if there was some mention of the lack of cooperation by local authorities when it comes to ensuring we, as the victims, were made to feel safe by allowing somebody else to be present when we see and hear what could be some pretty jarring evidence for the first time.”

“I don’t know how the community would handle such a scandal.” Beth leaned on the back of the sofa. “It would shake them all pretty hard.”

“Surely they would never help spread any information themselves. You know how much this place hates gossip.”

Beth giggled. “I’m starting to think that maybe you had already talked to Rick. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? He’s smart enough to come up with something like this on his own.”

“I never would have thought to approach any of the officers. Not at all. Especially not one that at one point had a vested interest in keeping me happy.” Cassie glanced up from the page again and flashed a wicked little grin.

Bernie plunked his hands on his hips, his eyes darting back and forth between the two as they carried on this conversation. “Are you saying I should check my email?”

“Not at all,” Beth smiled sweetle. “It can wait until morning. Betsy at the library doesn’t get on social media until about ten or so. That means she won’t start spreading things herself until at least a quarter past. That should give you plenty of time.”  
___

The next morning found the three of them in the kitchen, as was their established pattern. Cassie had a nice stack of loaves on the counter next to where she was shaping a batch of rolls. Beth sat in a rickety wooden chair next to a butcher’s block, cradling a cup of coffee.

Bernie sat across from Beth, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop. “Man, I wish there was wifi at that cabin. This could have been a trending topic by midnight last night.”

Beth hummed at him behind her cup.

“Some of these pictures are spectacular. I think this could go big only using two or three.”

The chair creaked as Beth shifted her weight. “I would suggest doing that, then. If possible use ones that look like some random person could have gotten the shot. Make it look less like an info leak if you can.”

“Right, right.” His fingers stilled. “That is too a word. Stupid spell check,” he mumbled. The clicking of keys continued.

Cassie covered the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and set them aside to prove. She turned to lean her hip against the counter. “I’ll talk to Tim and Jerri-Lynn about getting the cables for an internet hookup run through the property. It may be a while, though.”

Bernie grunted.

“I thought it might be,” Beth sighed. “We have to figure out how to make that a personal expense to us rather than have it charged to them. It could be tricky without some sort of legal rental agreement or something.”

“Maybe that’s something we should bring up to them. We’re employees here now, even though it’s unofficial, and we need to make that legal within the next few days. I think they’ve been trying to get something together between the two of them, but I’m not sure.” Cassie shrugged. “Hard to see what’s going on when we’re in here all the time.”

Bernie nodded. “Yeah, I’ve overheard a couple of things,” he said absently as his fingers flew. “There’s something in the works. Don’t know what yet.”

Beth drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “Huh. Maybe it’s something we could bring up as part of the contract, then. Either housing as part of payment, or as a separate contract for a rental, or something. We may have to research the legalities of that before saying anything, though.”

Bernie plunked his elbows atop the butcher block on either side of the laptop keyboard, folded his hands, and leaned his chin against them. He contemplated the screen in front of him for a long moment. Finally he heaved a sigh. “It’s missing something.”

“Do you know what?” Beth asked.

He nodded slowly. “Statements. Quotes.”

“I’m assuming from us.”

“Preferably.”

Cassie ducked down to peer into one of the two ovens. “So ask us things. I’ll give you a statement.”

“Do you mind if I record the interview?”

“I expect you to record it. And use quotes from it. And probably sound clips.”

“No video, please,” Beth added. “We don’t want to risk somebody recognizing the place.”

Bernie shrugged agreement. He dove down into the carrier bag sitting by his feet, emerging with a tabletop microphone that he attached to a USB drive. A few clicks later, and he spoke. “Testing, testing… Good. Cassie, are you at a point where you can come sit with us?”

“Yeah, I’ve got about five minutes here.” She snagged the coffee pot from the stove as she passed it and topped off everybody’s cups.

Beth leaned toward where some stools stood against the wall and pulled one over for Cassie. “Thanks,” she smiled.

Cassie kissed the top of her head before putting the coffee back on the heat and settling in. She spread her hands in a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

Bernie clicked something twice, cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and began. “This is Bernard Walker the Third, recording an exclusive interview on the third of September at an undisclosed location. It is understood that the contents of this interview are for the personal use of myself and the two women being interviewed. The contents can be used in various forms of media, both as written quotes and in sound byte form. Would each of you please state your name and your agreement to these terms before we go any further?”

Beth gently set her cup on the table. “My name is Bethany Louise Carter, and I agree to the terms as stated.”

“I am Cassandra Ann Beaumont and I also agree to terms.”

Bernie snorted. “Really? Cassandra Ann?”

She shrugged. “I can’t account for my parents’ tastes. Especially what their tastes were when I was born.”

“Conceded.” He thought for half a moment. “There are some photos here of two recent crime scenes. Both of these crimes involved the destruction of property. Both of these properties are directly tied to the two of you.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Cassie said.

“What was your initial reaction when this happened?”

“I couldn’t believe it,” Beth said. “This is the type of thing that happens to other people. I know that sounds trite and rather cliché, but that’s what kept going through my mind. It can’t be happening, this is something that happens to other people, not me, it can’t be me, it can’t be us.”

Cassie barked a short laugh. “I had the exact opposite reaction. My brain immediately went to ‘oh no, not again.’ This type of attack is all too familiar to me.”

“Do you think these attacks were directed at you specifically?”

“At one or both of us, yes.” Cassie’s mouth twitched upward at one corner. “I can’t be sure which it is.”

Beth nodded. “I agree. Nothing of the sort has happened here before, and there has been no other activity similar to this since.” She tilted her head to one side. “Or rather, I should say that I don’t know of any particular incident directed toward people like us has happened here before.”

“Not here, no,” Cassie agreed. 

“What do you mean by that?” Bernie’s voice indicated actual curiosity, not the cool detachment of somebody just trying to find a story.

Cassie whined deep in her throat. Beth took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

“Do you not want to answer the question?” Bernie asked.

“Not really,” admitted Cassie, dragging the words out. “But I will anyway. One of my ex boyfriends, somebody local to this area, followed me when I moved up to Boston. I was tired of being pushed around and berated because I dared to be myself. It took him a while but eventually he found me. It started simply enough. He would follow me around. When I went to the grocery store, when I went to work, out for walks, out with friends, whatever. And he would try to talk to me. No matter how many times I told him I wasn’t interested and asked him to leave me alone.” She paused to draw a deep breath. “My friends thought that he was a little creepy, but a lot of them said that I should talk to him, too. They said I was being too hard on him.”

“Were you?”

She shook her head. “No. No. Not at all. Eventually he proved that. It got to the point where I went to the police. They said they couldn’t do anything because he wasn’t being violent, which makes sense, but it sure doesn’t help keep people safe either. Once the damage is done it’s too late and all that. So they waited. Then one night I was out with friends. I went out to the car to grab a jacket, and he was there. With a baseball bat.” She paused, clenching and unclenching her hand around Beth’s fingers.

“What happened?” Bernie asked after a few moments.

“Well...” Cassie’s voice squeaked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Well, it took a while for everybody to figure out that I should have been back. We had been drinking, but none of us were drunk. But they were enjoying themselves and lost track of time, you know?”

Bernie nodded. “I understand, yes.”

“They went to find me. I was under the car. The car alarm was going off, I remember that. The windows were all smashed, and the doors were dented. I ended up in the hospital for nearly two weeks because of internal bleeding. I guess some random guy saw him beating me and chased him off. Caught him a couple of blocks away and held him down until the cops showed up.”

“That in itself has nothing to do with the damage to the buildings,” Beth chimed in. “There had also been reports from the neighborhood where Cassie lived, from earlier that night. He had gone to her apartment building, forced his way in, used an ax to get through the door, and destroyed her apartment. He spray painted graffiti on the walls, tore up the furniture, broke pretty much everything he could get his hands on, then ran when he heard the sirens coming.”

“That’s when he came to find me.”

“Where is he now?” Bernie asked.

“Prison, hopefully,” Beth said. “He shouldn’t be up for parole for a couple of years.”

Bernie took a deep breath. “That's good. That's very good.”

“You're telling me,” Cassie muttered.

He flashed her a brief smile. “Point made. Do either of you think he could be a part of this vandalism? Maybe by contacting people in this area to convince them to act on his behalf?”

Beth made a contemplative humming sound in the back of her throat. “It's not likely, but it's a possibility.”

Cassie nodded. “Agreed. He's not the most popular person around. Even to his own family. The general consensus is that he failed pretty spectacularly since he couldn't manage to land me as a wife. A few of them even welcomed me back to the area when I first came down. As far as the crimes themselves… There are similarities, but not enough, and the attitudes behind this are too widespread in the area to prove any sort of connection.”

“Attitudes? What do you mean?”

“The pictures make it pretty apparent.”

Beth opened her mouth to add something, but at that moment a timer went off. She waited until Cassie had turned it off before speaking, her words accompanied by the sounds of things being taken out of and put into the oven. “I apologize for the noise, whoever may be listening to this. We have found another source of income and need to fulfill our obligations.” She paused to allow the echo of a loud metallic 'clang' to resolve itself. “I'm not sure which photos will be published, or who had already published pictures they have taken themselves. I know there were many people at Sweet Cheeks throughout the course of the day, and most of them had their phones out. It is fairly safe to assume that they shared their own versions of what happened, along with the pictures they took, on social media as well as via text message. Much of the information that can be taken from the site itself as seen from outside the police tape is public knowledge. I am certain that includes the graffiti found there. I'm not sure if there are any photos of the house we were renting, but similar things were found there. Much of it includes various slurs concerning our lifestyle.”

“Are you referring to these?” Bernie clicked a few times and turned the laptop so the women could view the screen.

“Ah.” Beth sighed. “Charming.” Let's see... Die fags die, lesbos go to hell, and...” she squinted at the screen. “Are those the bathrooms?”

Cassie shut the oven door and grabbed a timer as she came back to peer at the screen. “Looks like it. The word 'marriage' over the tops of the doors, and a big ol' plus sign between the men’s and women’s signs.”

She snorted and turned her attention to setting the timer, the beeping of the buttons accentuating the growling tone of her voice. “Original.”

“Yes, those are some of the examples,” Beth said.

“I see.” Bernie turned the laptop back so that it faced him once more. “Ladies, I am going to ask some very personal and possibly invasive questions. I personally feel that these are things the public may either want or need to know in order to form their own personal opinions on what has happened and why. I also believe that they are important to help people understand why these are important and relevant topics in today's modern world. This is a formal statement that I will not continue to push for an answer if either one of you is uncomfortable with providing information based on the questions asked. The answers will wait until you are ready to give them. However, I reserve the right to ask the same or similar questions in the future. At that point you may choose to either answer them or refuse to give information. At any point from the time of recording to the point of publication, you may add information at will. You may also approach me at any time in order to answer previously asked questions. And, of course, any information you may wish to volunteer without a specific question is always welcome, with the understanding that questions related to said information may be asked. This recording will serve as a verbal contract between myself, each of you as individuals, and the both of you as a single unit business entity. Do you agree to the terms so that we may continue the line of questioning?”

The women looked at each other. Cassie twisted her lips to one side, then lifted a shoulder. Beth nodded, then said simply, “Yes.”

“I agree, with the added condition that if either of us want anything edited out, you do so. No questions asked. It just gets done. The condition is applicable from the point of recording to the point of publication. After that, the info is out there and the internet will spread it like wildfire whether we want it to or not. Instead, you may insert a statement explaining that content is missing per our request, so people know something was there but is not available for public consumption. You may keep the original unedited files for your own personal records. That way, if there is reason for us to change our minds and release more information, you have it. But there are some things that have no reason to be public knowledge. Not now. Probably not ever.” Cassie smiled to soften her harsh tone. “Agreed?”

Bernie paused a moment, his face leaning against folded hands. “I will agree to the condition if you will both also agree that I am to be your exclusive liaison for all outlets. No interviews with anybody else under any conditions unless necessary by law.”  
“That is acceptable.”

Beth heaved a soft sigh. “Agreed, yes.”

He gave a sharp nod. “All terms and conditions have been agreed upon. This recording serves as the official documentation of a verbal contract between the three of us. With your permission, it will be published as an audio file so there can be no confusion about it later. Not just with us, but with any other sources.”

Cassie lifted a finger. “Not the entirety of the recording. Only these last few seconds, in which we negotiated legal and binding terms of said verbal contract. The rest of the recording is subject to what we previously discussed. Also, the opening of the recording, in which you stated the date and we all gave our legally binding names, will be used as a form of electronic signature. Both sound clips will also be transcribed into a formal written form and signed by all parties, with a copy for yourself, a copy for us personally, and a copy for the files of Sweet Cheeks as a company entity.”

Bernie snorted a short laugh. “You’ve done this before. Agreed.”

“Agreed. On both counts.” Cassie smiled.

Beth shook her head. “Yes, agreed.”

“Then this will be the form in all interviews going forward.”

Both girls nodded agreement. “Yes, that’s fine,” Beth added.

“Well then. Shall we proceed?”

“Yes, please.”

He flashed a smile at Beth to show his thanks. “Most of the graffiti refers to the two of you being in a homosexual relationship. Is there any basis for that?”

Cassie settled on the stool again. “Yes.”

“Is it based on rumor?”

“Partially.”

“Is it based on fact?”

“Partially.”

“Will you elaborate?”

She smirked at him. “I could.”

Beth rolled her eyes and smacked Cassie's arm. It was playful, but still sharp. “Stop it.” She turned back to Bernie. “I'm sorry. Perhaps I should answer these particular questions.”

Cassie sniffed haughtily and picked up her mug of coffee to slurp it loudly.

“A part of this is based on rumors, yes. Cassie has been facing these specific rumors much longer than I have. I remember them being spread as far back as high school. I was not the subject of the homosexuality based rumors until after she had moved back to town, some number of years later.”

“Really? Why did the rumors about Cassie start so early?”

Cassie leaned forward and thumped her mug down hard on the butcher block.

Beth put a restraining hand on her shoulder, then smiled at Bernie. “I'm not going to tell you Cassie's story.”

“Oh?” He glanced at Cassie and held a hand up in a 'wait a minute' gesture, then nodded toward Beth.

Beth shook her head. “Of course not. It's not my place to tell somebody else's story. However, mine is fairly straightforward.”

“That is more than fair,” Bernie conceded. “Will you share your own story?”

“What I am comfortable sharing, certainly. But, as discussed just a minute ago, there are things that simply are not for public consumption.”

“Of course.”

Beth patted Cassie's shoulder, then cradled her cup in her hands. “I am going to ask that you be patient. Some things are difficult to talk about, especially knowing that strangers will be hearing this. Also my story is just a bit convoluted. I will try to make it as simple as possible for those completely and blessedly unaware of the particular circumstances.”

He barked a short laugh. “After having been in this town for a few weeks, I understand completely. Things are just not simple here.”

“Very rarely,” Cassie interjected.

“Please proceed. Take your time,” Bernie said.

“Thank you.” Beth smiled. “I was always one of the favored children here in town. A little less so in the surrounding areas, where you also have to know about raising plants and animals to be considered a part of the preferred company. In the area my family was neither considered a part of the established elite nor part of the poorest, and therefore least desirable company. We attended church on Sundays and Wednesdays. We always took cakes to the socials and pot lucks. I also had a reputation for being a very well behaved child. All of the adults seemed to point to me as an example of how a girl should behave – quiet and obedient. Never one to complain.”

She paused for a moment, spinning her cup between her hands. “From a young age all of the adults played this game in which they tried to guess who would be the best husband for a decent young lady like myself. The matches they decided on were everything from the most popular boys that were literally twice my age at that point to newborn babies. Some of them were from families that were known to produce nothing but highly abusive men and incredibly cowed women. Others were from families in which the men were completely submissive to the women. There was a little bit of everything in between.” She sipped at the now-cold coffee and pulled a face. “Since I never complained about the practice, and simply did what was expected of a girl, by the time I reached high school the reputation for being both content to live my life as a background character and willing to accept what everybody decided was best for me was well developed.”

At this comment Cassie sputtered and choked on her coffee. She coughed a few times, then rasped out, “Sorry. Wrong pipe.”

Beth laughed softly. “Such a vote of confidence, my dear!” She gestured toward Cassie. “As you can see, those few who have gotten to know me well over the past few years have a different opinion.” She sobered quickly, her voice turning serious. “That was before high school. By the time I had reached the middle of sophomore year, things had changed. The qualities that had been lauded as the best and most wonderful parts of my personality were suddenly the worst, according to the people my own age.”

Cassie reached over to rub between Beth's shoulder blades. The pressure made Beth rock back and forth slightly, the chair beneath her squeaking and creaking with each motion.

“This chair...” Beth smiled. “We should talk to the owners about getting it either repaired or replaced.” She sighed. “By that point in high school, a few of the boys had asked me on dates. It was expected by that point. High school and all. I was too polite to decline when they asked, no matter who it was. It was rude, you know, and insulting to whoever asked. It took all sorts of courage to ask something as important as whether or not a date would be out of the question. Or at least that's what they told me.” She started spinning the cup again. “I've learned differently since then. Either way, as so many people asked to date and I accepted all of them, I started to gain the reputation of being easy. And as I had been taught to at least pretend to be interested in whatever the men in the room wanted to talk about or to do, I faked my way through incredibly horrible dates. Every last one of them planned things that either held no interest for me whatsoever or went directly against everything I had been taught. It ran the gamut from something as simple as the local football games to monster truck rallies and slasher flicks.”

“Among other things,” Cassie interjected as she stood to slice one of the cooling loaves.

“Well, yes, but some of the movies and putt putt golf dates were at least tolerable,” Beth laughed. “The dances weren't too bad, either. The problem came when they pushed for more.” The chair creaked as she shifted uncomfortably. “After I got the reputation for being an easy person to date, I got a reputation as a cold fish. A prude. A challenge. Until, suddenly, it wasn't my reputation anymore. I had no idea what had happened. Nothing had changed. I had a date with one boy on Friday, and another on Saturday, as I had been too polite to decline either one. They were two of the popular boys and good friends. They knew I was to be going out with both of them that weekend. Nothing untoward had happened. However, when I got to school on Monday, people were looking at me very differently. They were whispering behind their hands.”

Another timer started beeping. They waited until Cassie had turned it off. After she had switched the bread sheets and the noise had subsided, Beth continued.

“At about the same time, the reputation of another girl at school suddenly changed. I didn't know her well at all. We did not run in the same circles. I knew that we went to the same church and that it was fairly well known she was simply destined to marry either one of the boys I had just gone out with or the prettiest boy in school.”

“The... prettiest?” Bernie's voice was incredulous.

“Oh, yes.” Beth smiled up at Cassie and nodded when the shorter woman brought over the coffeepot.

“Not the most handsome or most masculine by any means, but definitely pretty. It would have been rather emasculating if it weren't obvious he was very much male.” She flashed a devilish grin at Bernie.

“Don't I know it,” mumbled Cassie as she refilled Bernie's cup.

Bernie turned to look at her. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” she replied. She dropped the coffeepot back onto the stove and picked up a tray of freshly sliced bread and cold cuts. “I'll be right back.”

Bernie nodded. As soon as she was out of sight, he turned back to Beth. “What was that about?”

She shrugged. “Not my story to tell.”

He laughed quietly. “All right. That's fair. Please continue.”

“We were at... high school reputations. Yes.” She nodded. “Anyway, the reputation of this other popular girl suddenly changed as well. I was not sure what happened, or why, though somebody else did tell me that it was related to my dating one of the boys over the weekend. It didn't take very much to figure out that rumors of his taking my virginity had started going around school.” She sipped delicately at her coffee. “It was all untrue, of course. I was still the innocent little church girl I had always been. Sex was a thing that married people did, and was never discussed in my house growing up outside of the fact that it happened after marriage, and as a woman you should just lie back and let it happen. It is a husband's right to demand such things, after all, and it was a wife's duty to acquiesce. No matter what.” She sniffed. “Hogwash. As they say.”

“You don't believe those things?”

“Not anymore, no.” She paused for a few moments. “I left for a short time and came back. It was only a few months, but it was enough for me to realize that things here are... a bit outdated when it comes to certain subjects. It was also enough for me to become curious about certain subjects. I started to research them out of my own curiosity, and found some of the statistics to be rather shocking.”

“What types of subjects?”

Beth shook her head. “That is neither here nor there. However, if you want to touch on a subject that is both inflammatory and highly contested, look into the number of spouses – both men and women – who file for divorce because they have been sexually abused by their partner.”

“That many?” he asked incredulously.

She gave a small hum of assent. “At any rate, that has little to do with my story as it was in high school.” She set her cup down once more, staring into the liquid. “It became evident, as I said, that suddenly I wasn't just considered to be easy to date, but I was considered to be easy. It had a profound effect on how everybody else in town treated me. Rumor mongering is the local pastime here. I was no longer the preferred child. Nobody was interested in my marrying their sons, cousins, nephews, grandsons, or whatever else they could find. It was shocking. I always thought that I would marry some local boy and raise a dozen children, just like everybody else.”

Bernie coughed. “A dozen?”

“Well, maybe a dozen is a few more than average. The numbers have dropped over the past couple of generations. Now it's closer to four or five.”

“That's more believable.”

“It's also true. However, since nobody wanted me to marry their boys anymore, I was out of consideration. I was also suddenly much less popular than before this strange and wondrous occurrence. The other girl was suddenly even less popular than I was. It was actually oddly freeing to be able to do as I wanted, rather than having to deal with pleasing whichever boy wanted to go on the next date. I started watching the movies I wanted, going to the places I wanted to go, seeing what I wanted to see, shopping where I wanted, eating what I liked instead of what some random boy decided I wanted to eat. It was absolutely glorious.”

“These are things you never got to do before?” He sounded genuinely curious.

Beth laughed. “Of course not! In fact, it's still considered to be rude and pushy for a woman to ask for some of those things. Ask any of the single women who are trying to set up dates when they ask to change the venue.”

“Change the venue? What do you mean?”

“Well... Let's say that you were going to ask me on a date. I'm single, you're single, we meet somewhere, and you ask me out. Let's say that you would like to go to a restaurant on Tuesday evening. Which is fine, but I don't like the restaurant of choice. Or I have an appointment that evening. Anything. It could be I just don't want to go out on Tuesday. I would rather stay home and watch a bad made for TV movie. So I make up an excuse, since that's safer for a woman than saying, 'You know, I would love to, but no'. You understand?”

He nodded. “I'm following so far. I make the suggestion for Italian on Tuesday, you say that something else is going on.”

“Yes, exactly. Now, instead of simply saying no and moving on, as I may be interested in said proverbial date, I offer something like going for coffee on Wednesday after work instead. Different setting, different day, an hour or two earlier in the day. What do you do?”

He shrugged. “I'm not sure. It sounds reasonable to me. I agree.”

“Good. Congratulations. You just passed the test.”

“Wait. What?”

She laughed at him. “Simple, isn't it? You just passed a test. Now what would you do if you didn't like coffee, or had something important happening on Wednesday?”

“I would... I don't know, I guess I would ask if going to a quick sandwich place on Saturday for lunch would be better.”

“That's a really good answer! That shows that you're still interested, and would actually want to get to know me better, but you're willing to compromise.” The smile faded from her face. “The problem is that there are an incredible number of people who are completely unwilling to compromise in that manner. Both men and women. The uncompromising behavior is more prevalent in men, however. Add to that the fact that men have a tendency toward more physically abusive and manipulative behaviors than women, and you end up with the minefield that women have to go through on a daily basis. Which is why simple tests like that exist. And should probably be kept under wraps, to ensure that people doing that are getting more honest feedback when putting something like that forward. Finding the freedom to be able to go where you would like, eat what you would like, and all of those other little things is an incredibly liberating experience.”

Bernie shook his head. “I can't even imagine living like that.” 

“Many men can't. However, there are plenty of men who live in abusive relationships and abusive situations who deal with the exact same type of thing on a daily basis as well. I am certain that a good number of them would also appreciate the liberation, if they were given a chance to experience it.”

“That's insane. Just mind blowing.”

“It is. But it's the reality of life now. Just as it was the reality of my life until that lovely reputation I had built suddenly wasn't there anymore.” She grinned. “But that was not nearly as freeing as what happened to the other girl. She cut her hair short. She stopped wearing feminine clothing. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen her in a dress since a couple of weeks after that whole incident. She was one of the few people who left town after high school and did not come back immediately after college. Also the only one I know of who never married and had multiple children.”

“Hold on. The only one? That includes you?”

“Unfortunately.”

He shook his head, leaning back a bit. “You're going to have to explain that one. I'm confused. You said that you were not considered to be an eligible candidate for marriage?”

“Not here, no.” She sipped at her coffee again. “But that's here, isn't it?” She sighed softly. “Let me get back to my story, and it will come out.”

“Of course. Sorry.”

“It's your job to ask questions. That's what you were doing. Now, we were at my newfound freedom, I believe?”

“That sounds right.”

Beth nodded, her eyes ticking over to the door as Cassie slipped back in. 

“Lunch has been served,” Cassie sighed as she plunked onto the stool.

“Thank you.” Beth placed a kiss on Cassie's bicep. “You remember when I suddenly became the local easy girl? That's where we're at.”

Cassie snickered. “Oh, do I ever. That was a great time.”

“What do you mean?” Bernie asked.

“We both found ourselves a little bit that year. My boyfriend of the time and his best friend told the entire school that they had bounced Beth back and forth between them all weekend. I got pissed at him. Obviously. Our breakup was not private. Or quiet.” She laughed. “I don't think he recovered from that for years. Especially since it got around that what he did turned me into one of those scary, scary lesbian people.” She wiggled her fingers in an ooky-spooky gesture as she said this.

Beth lifted a finger. “That bit does not get published, please. About me. My version is enough.”

“Ah, sorry.” Cassie flushed. “I thought you had told him the full extent of the rumors.”

Beth shook her head. “Not so much. Enough to get the idea, however.”

Bernie flipped the page of a small notebook that was sitting at hand and made a quick note. “Not to be published. Got it. And… the test part.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, one of the other girls had it worse than I did when our reputations were suddenly not what they had been.” Beth hooked a thumb at Cassie. “I found the freedom to enjoy a few things without having to worry about ruining an already destroyed reputation. The other girl did more. She was the first girl I ever knew to cut her hair short before reaching the age of 40 and having at least three children. She was the first girl to get a sports car.” She grinned. “And as I said earlier, the only girl I ever knew to simply stop wearing dresses.”

“They did manage to stop me from trying out for the football team senior year, though,” Cassie laughed.

Beth giggled. “I remember that, too. There was a big writeup about it in the local paper. The scandal lasted about three weeks. Then everybody realized that the team wasn't going to win a game all year, and everybody simply stopped caring.”

“Not just that, but a couple of people even said the team would have been better if I had made it.” Cassie dropped her voice in imitation of a man. “That little girl's the only one that actually has balls. Maybe we could have won once.”

Beth slapped a hand over her mouth to smother laughter.

“That was awful, but it got the point across.” Cassie shook her head ruefully. “At least a little. I think that's what finally got us together.” She turned her attention to Bernie. “Not together as a couple. Not for years yet. But I decided that trying to live up to everybody else's standards wasn't worth the time and effort, so just stopped. I think Beth and I started just running into each other around that time.”

Beth nodded. “Yes, somewhere in there. We would see each other in passing at the local coffee shop, or going into or out of a movie we both went to see. Small things like that. Eventually we started smiling and saying hello in passing.”

“It was still a big scandal for us to even do that. The town slut and the lesbian! What would people think! Not to be published.”

Bernie nodded, glanced at the screen, and jotted down another note.

“It took a few more months, but once we realized that we had similar tastes in many things, we started to show up places at about the same time.”

Cassie nodded. “The coffee shop again. You were there, and I ended up sitting at the table with you. Didn't ask, just sat down.”

Beth slapped the top of the butcher block. “Yes, that was it! I remember we just sat together every day for about a week before we even got around to introducing ourselves officially.” She laughed. “Then we started talking and making plans to do things together. Not as girlfriends in the dating sense of the word, but as girls who were friends.”

“Just gals being pals,” Cassie laughed.

Bernie nodded. “That's a regional term, isn't it?”

“Generally, yeah,” Cassie said. “Though it’s gaining traction all over in an effort to erase lesbianism.”

“Right, right.” He gestured for them to continue.

“That continued until Cassie graduated. I was a year behind her in school, so I stayed and finished out high school. She left the week after her graduation and simply did not come back. Most of the people around here thought she would visit for the holidays, or perhaps for birthdays, but she simply never showed up.”

“Not for years. Then dingus decided to come after me.”

Beth patted Cassie's thigh. “I'm getting there, my dear.”

Cassie grumbled in a good natured fashion, then grabbed the timer a few seconds before it was set to go off and canceled it. She busied herself on the other side of the kitchen, pulling the last few things out of the oven and beginning cleanup.

“Patience is not one of her greatest virtues.”

“I heard that,” Cassie called.

“However, she is not deaf,” Beth grinned. “Now, the story. Cassie and I had become friends, we had spent some time together for the last few months she was in town, then she moved away. None of us had any idea where she had gone. Not even myself. I spent the last year of school dealing with the loss of one of the few friendly faces while still being looked down upon for my reputation of being a fallen woman.” She downed a few swallows of coffee. “It wasn't all that terrible, truth be told. However, it was disheartening. I was still expected to find a suitable husband and start having children within a few years of graduating high school. It was also continually made apparent that was not going to happen with any of the boys that had grown up locally. My parents made the decision that I was to be sent away to school. Not far, but away.” She drew a deep breath. “So I filled out applications to schools in state,” she sighed. “I was a good enough student to be accepted to a few. I went to one that was about a two hour drive away. Far enough that I would not get any unexpected visitors, but also close enough that I could bring my laundry home if needed. Or, as my parents would rather hear, close enough that they could expect me home for church every Sunday so they could help save my poor soul.”

“Did you come home often?” Bernie asked.

“Not as often as they would have hoped. In all honesty, I was not enjoying myself at all. I spent a single year there. The time away taught me a number of things about home that I did not want to recognize. Most of them were not pleasing in any way. They were things everybody should learn about their hometown at some point, I suppose, but that still does not make it a pleasant thing to have to do.” She smiled softly into her cup. “I felt that if I came home more often, I would just not go back one day.”

“You kept going, though,” Cassie said over the sound of water filling the deep sink.

“Yes, I did. While I was there I also met a young man who missed home terribly. He found out many of the same things that I did about his home town, though it was in another state. We dated for a few months, fell in love, and announced our engagement at Christmas. My family was shocked, but relieved that I had found somebody who would fulfill my destiny to become a nice housewife.” She paused for a long moment.

“And his family?” Bernie prompted.

“Oh, they disowned him,” she threw out casually.

Bernie drew back in shock. “What? Why?”

She sipped at the coffee once more. “It seems that he was supposed to get a degree, go back home, and marry this nice young thing from the neighboring town. Their two families had at least one person marry into the other family every other generation. If not more often. It was his turn.” She looked up at him. “That's how they settled an old dispute over land a couple of hundred years ago. His deciding to marry me instead did not work out to their plans to continue in that vein.”

“That... what?” Bernie shook his head. “That makes no sense.”

“Not to you,” Cassie interjected, “But it does in small towns. Everywhere.”

Beth gestured to Cassie. “Like she said, it makes sense in small towns. There are certain traditions that may or may not actually end up hurting the places where they exist, but they continue anyway. He broke this tradition and married me. As his family had disowned him, he couldn’t take me there, so we came here to settle down. Which we did. He got a job at the local feed and farm supply store. I stayed home and had children.” She held up a finger. “Before you ask: no, I will not tell you how many. Or their names, or where they are at, other than to say they are safe and well taken care of. They are loved and as happy as can be expected. They are also exceptionally healthy. These are the only things I could really ask for, truth be told.”

Bernie nodded. “All right. I may ask about them at a later date.”

Beth bowed her head in acquiescence.

“What happened between you and your husband?”

Beth shrugged. “Rumors, mostly. And Cassie.”

Cassie whipped around from where she was doing dishes. “Hey!”

“It's true!” Beth laughed. “He and I got along well enough. There had been a few problems when the gossip about Cassie and me reached him, but I explained what had happened with those two boys. Similar things had happened multiple times in his home town, so he believed me. I guess it was still in the back of his mind, though. We had been married for years when I got a phone call out of nowhere. Cassie's mother reached out to me. We hadn't spoken since Cassie had left town. I thought she blamed me for her leaving, to be quite honest. The call obviously came as a surprise. She said that Cassie had been hurt. That she wanted to see me. Of course, having been taught from a very young age that if somebody needs help you go to them, that's what I did.” She frowned into her cup, absently spinning it between her hands again. “I told my husband what had happened, left the children under the care of him and my parents, and went to find Cassie. She needed help.”

There was a full ten seconds of silence before Bernie quietly asked, “What happened?”

Beth heaved a heavy sigh. “I found her, obviously. I called home to let my husband know that she had been beaten and was hospitalized. We made arrangements for me to stay with her until she was out of the hospital. He was to take care of the children with my parents' help until I got home. I stayed until Cassie was released into my care, at which point I packed her and what few belongings she had left into my car and brought her back to continue to care for her.” She drained the last of the dregs from her mug. “When we got back I found my husband and children had left. My parents refused to tell me where they had gone. It seems they had decided I abandoned them to follow the evils of lesbianism.” She slammed the cup down. “We don't speak much now.”

“There are a lot of people around here who want to keep us isolated.” Cassie grunted as she stretched to put a stack of bowls on a shelf over Beth's head. “There are also some that are either supportive of us or are in denial that we are who we are.” She plunked a fist on a hip as she turned to look at Bernie. “Now I know the question is coming eventually. Especially since so many people deny that we’re in a relationship, and because so many around here know our backgrounds. Before you ask: yes, we have both had sex with men. We both still find men attractive. We're not lesbians just because we're in a relationship with each other.”

Beth nodded. “That's true. We may have chosen to be in a monogamous relationship with each other, but we are still both bisexual. Somehow that seems to be even worse to many people.”

Bernie shook his head quickly, as if trying to erase an Etch-A-Sketch. “OK, I'm confused.”

“It's actually relevant to the conversation. Many people consider it a terrible sin to love somebody whose body parts match your own. What many people don't realize, however, is that within the LGBT community there is a push back against people who are attracted to multiple genders. I have run into many women who have found it absolutely disgusting that I have enjoyed sex with a man. Never mind the fact that it has happened on more than one occasion.” She spread her hands wide. “Evidently it's not only disgusting to many of them, but it's also a sign that I am completely incapable of having a monogamous relationship. This despite the fact that I was in one for years with my husband, and have now been in one for years with Cassie.”

“That's part of what makes this so hard,” Cassie called over her shoulder. “The graffiti makes it look like it's a bunch of straight people. So does the fact that there's just not many gay people in the area. But it could have been a lot of people from the LGBT community, too.”

“That makes no sense,” Bernie said quietly. “Why would marginalized people want to exclude more marginalized people that are so similar?”

Cassie paused to turn toward him, wiping a soapy hand against her backside. “Beats me, but that's what happens. If we could get it to stop, we'd be a force to be reckoned with.”

“I can't even imagine,” Bernie murmured. “Did the two of you get together when you got back?”

“As a couple?” Beth asked.

“I'm sorry. Yes, as a couple.”

“Not immediately, no. We moved into the house that my husband and I had bought. I did my best to care for Cassie while looking for a job that could support both of us.” She picked up the empty cup, stared into it, then set it down again. “I was not successful. Since I had been at school for such a short time with my parents supporting me, then immediately got married and became a housewife, I had no work experience at all. There were also the rumors about what had happened between he and I working against me.” Her smile was sad. “People around here simply do not appreciate the fact that I did not abandon him or my children. They never have. I doubt that they ever will. I was simply taking care of somebody else who needed me for a short time.”

“Do you think that the old rumors about the two of you from high school played a part in that?”

“Certainly. People here have long memories for the juicy gossip. The more scandalous it is, the longer they remember. It simply does not go away. I honestly think that if I had gone to help any of the other girls from school who had moved away it would have been perfectly acceptable. Perhaps not quite reasonable in the eyes of the people here, but acceptable.”

“But since it was Cassie...”

Beth shrugged. “You seem to grasp the concept. Since it was Cassie, and there were old rumors in everybody's minds, it became more of a problem.”

“If it was such a problem, why didn't Cassie move in with her mom?”

Cassie barked a short laugh. “My mom is an aging hippie. I needed actual medical care with real medication. She would have chucked it out the window and given me some herbal concoction instead of relying on those terrible chemical things. Honestly, I got lucky that dad insisted I get my shots as a kid.”

“Her mother is a bit of a free spirit. A rather unapologetic free spirit.” Beth grinned. “Not to mention trouble. However, she has always been completely supportive of whatever Cassie has tried to do. Sometimes she is supportive to the point of being detrimental.”

“Let's not get into that,” Cassie said.

Beth bowed her head slightly. “Either way, it doesn't matter. We moved into the house my husband and I had bought. I failed to get a job. He failed to continue mortgage payments. As he no longer lived there, it was no longer a priority. The day the notice of foreclosure arrived in the mail, Cassie got up and started baking bread. She was still far from healthy. In all honesty, there was some question as to whether or not she should have even been standing up. Yet, somehow, she managed to bake.”

“Dinner rolls. They're faster than loaves.”

“They also distribute more easily. I remember walking into the kitchen just in time to catch her as she fell, completely exhausted. I got her to bed safely, then sat down next to her and started working up a plan. Less than a week later I took a basic business plan, a batch of cupcakes, and a batch of dinner rolls to the bank. It took nearly all day, but I left before the end of business with the paperwork for a loan to start Sweet Cheeks.” She smiled at Cassie's back. “That day was when we decided that we would be better together. We had no money, so could not go celebrate. Cassie was still incredibly injured and still essentially incapable of doing much more than getting back and forth to the toilet and the kitchen. We still slept in the same bed. I believe we held hands all night as we slept.”

Cassie sniffed loudly. “Mush.” She peered over her shoulder and winked.

Beth waved a hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, yes. It's mush. But you were the one that reminded me of the fact.” She turned back to Bernie. “We have been together since then. It's been long enough that we established Sweet Cheeks, turned it into one of the most successful places to get foodstuffs in the area, managed to get a contract with the clubhouse at the golf course, became the premier place for wedding and birthday cakes, and had started to be able to save for the down payment on a home despite having to rent both a house and the business space on top of paying the loan down.”

“It's been a few years,” Cassie said dryly.

“And a lot of hard work. But it had been paying off quite well.”

“Then this happened,” Bernie interjected.

Cassie nodded. “Then this happened. It looks like there may be some problems with the insurance, thanks to the lack of forward motion in the police investigation. The insurance company doesn’t seem in much of a hurry, either.”

“I’m just glad we won’t have to actually rebuild the structures themselves. There’s a lot of cleanup, and we’ll have to replace some equipment and personal items, but the majority of the damage really wasn’t that bad. Plus, the fire damage was all covered by the renter’s insurance for the house.”

“Glad I convinced you we needed that.”

“Yeah,” Beth sighed. She slowly got to her feet and crossed to the stove. “Would you like a refill?”

“No, babe, thanks.”

“Oh. Uh.” Bernie checked the level in his cup, then shook his head. “I’m fine here, thank you.”

Cassie settled on the stool again. “I’m just a little worried that there’s going to be terms saying we need to reopen Sweet Cheeks. I don’t know that I’m ready for it again.”

Bernie raised his eyebrows and leaned forward slightly. “Oh?”

She laughed quietly. “Oh.” She folded her hands atop the butcher block. “Look, this isn’t the first time somebody has sent life crashing down on my head. Right when things were coming together and looking up, too. It’s not fun. It’s not easy. And honestly? I’m liking it here so far. If we can get a contract together with these nice folks, it could work out for all of us.”

Beth set her filled cup down before sitting carefully on the creaky chair. “It may just be a false sense of security. We’re among friends here, for the most part. Or we have been since the incident in question. Though, in all honesty, it may simply serve to bring trouble for them as well.”

“Yeah,” Cassie agreed. “But I’m pretty sure they knew before they let us come here. They’re not stupid at all.”

“If there is the caveat to rebuild, what will you do?” Bernie asked.

The two women looked at each other. “Well, honestly?” Cassie asked.

“We’re not sure,” Beth finished. “We’ve been discussing that possibility and have not reached any sort of decision as of this moment. The understanding is that the insurance will cover the cost to replace items necessary for running the bakery and the repairs to both the business and the house. However, if things work out well enough here, we have considered simply cutting our losses and staying on, if our friends are amenable.”

“We haven’t talked to them about it yet.”

“I’m not sure we quite know how to bring the subject to light.”

Cassie nodded. “Especially since we can’t get a straight answer from the insurance people. It would be one thing if we knew where they stood on all of this, but we can’t plan anything until we get the nitty gritty on what to expect.”

“Which means that, until we do, we are stuck in a sort of holding pattern. We will continue on here as we have been and hope daylight comes sooner rather than later.”

The chirruping sound of a cell phone ringing came from the bag at Bernie’s feet.

“Oh. Crap. Sorry. Mind if we continue later?” he asked as he reached for it.

Cassie shrugged. “Sure, no problem. Just get the word out.”

He nodded as he stuck the phone to his ear and stopped recording. “Hey, yeah, I was just about to call you...” His voice trailed off as he walked into the hall.


End file.
